A Gangster's Sin
by existencene
Summary: It took just one fateful evening for the two most infamous group of gangsters, the Konoha Four and the Sand Siblings, to commence war on each other. Victory awaits for the last group standing, but dark and dangerous forces lurk in the underworld, one that can't be ignored. Could it be that the two groups can put aside their differences and work alongside each other? Or perhaps not?
1. The First Introduction

"Run! Let's go!"

The girl grabbed hold of the youngest's hand and ran into the night. Street lamps flickered as they ran past, the middle child shortly behind them. Beyond the trio was a man of 6ft with a muscular build and a menacing face. If hell was a human, it was him. The man's thick and strong legs were no match for the three children for he was moments away of grabbing the middle child.

"Come back here you little punks!"

She led her two brothers to the left, only to find an alleyway with a dead end. The fence was manageable for the older two but not the youngest, he was far too small and weak.

"I got you all now!"

The voice became louder and louder. There was no choice anymore. The grip on the little boy's hand tightened as they charged towards the fence.

"Kankuro! The box!"  
Said figure nodded to rush over to a wooden, rusted box which was too heavy to carry. The eldest turned towards the red haired boy with her hands on his plump cheeks. Her knee was bent and she planted her trademark smile on her soft face.

"Gaara, everything is going to be okay. Your brother is going to take you away from here."

On cue, Kankuro had pushed the box until it hit the rigid fence.

"But what about you oneesan (1)?" the voice was still fragile and high pitched. Only 6 years young and having to run from a life of crime and hatred, all in the name of survival.

"I'll be fine. Now go," her words left in a hurried whisper. The hands on his cheek left to pass him to the second oldest brother.

"Okay now little dude, grab onto my back."

The giant man stood by the entrance of the alleyway. He walked agonisingly slowly towards the three children with the knife in his hands and a beckoning smirk. Doing as he was told, Gaara hopped onto Kankuro's back. Time was running out but the taller boy wouldn't climb the fence until he knew his brother was properly secured on his back. Safety of the youngest was the biggest priority for the two older siblings.

"Go. I'll catch up."

The two were already at the top of the fence and made their way downwards carefully. Upon safely landing, Kankuro had worry engraved in his eyes as he looked at the back of his sister's hair through the silver fence.

"He's tough Te-"

"Go."

She meant business.

Kankuro looked away with closed eyes before their figures disappeared into the distance, However the red haired boy turned around to look at his sister with concerning eyes.

This man was the worst thing the siblings ever came across. And they came across many, many, **many** people. One remarkably famous example was the butcher of a meat shop on the outskirts of the city who chased after the siblings, throwing knives and insults. It was a miracle that his fat figure couldn't keep up with the energetic speed of the siblings. Another example was the son of a manager who owned a gun shop. Gaara was the wisest and the smartest for he distinctly pulled his siblings by the back of their clothes before they entered the back of the shop. The feeling he had was worse than terrible, and knew the force inside was beyond nature itself. The two older siblings had to learn the hard way that it was indeed, not a food shop when the manager's son emerged with a rifle in his hand and aimed to shoot the oldest. Luckily, the shot from the rifle had backfired with such power that the aim was more than a mile off. The three never came across that shop again.

But this man was something else.

You would think as the owner of a bakery shop, there'd be a soft nature about him. Maybe he'd look past the three children, malnourished and dying, and throw partly burnt loaves of bread towards them. If they were unsuitable to sell for customers, there would be no harm giving them away right? Perhaps he'd chuck an extra loaf for the road, especially if several of them weren't enough to feed three hungry children for a long time. The siblings' instincts improved and were incredibly advanced for those of their age. One could say they had the judgement and strategic ideas of a military leader. Therefore, experience after experience, days after months after years, the trio trusted and relied on their instincts like a hawk.

However.

Their judgement of the owner had betrayed them catastrophically.

But who could blame them? They're still too young to know of the dark secrets that lurk in every house, in every corner of the city. The typical plan - or rather - ritual of the siblings is to sneak in from the back and to steal the food. Fairly straightforward. They've been doing it for years. So when all was according to plan and Kankuro sneaked into the room from the back, to find a bloody knife stuck on the table but no food, it was a bit weird. Besides, the shop didn't sell meat. So where was it?

"Temari," he signalled her to crawl towards him as he hid behind the table. Gaara was by the entrance of the back door with his eyes looking into the room, he was on lookout for the owner entering the room. The girl saw the knife on the table but developed an empty pit in her stomach, the kind of uncertainty and anxiety rather than the cry for food.

"I don't like this. This isn't right. We need to go, I'm taking Gaara."

"This shop is so big there has to be something!"

"Don't be stupid we need to leave right now." Returning to the back entrance of the room, she stepped outside of the house where the little figure stood.

"Sorry Gaara but there isn't anything in here. Let's go to the next one okay?"  
As she shook his messy hair, a little laugh left his lips. Throughout all their troubles and their grief, Gaara's innocent smile was their remedy. The eldest smiled back with a beautiful grin and continued to play with his hair.

 _Temari is acting stupid. There must be someth- hey there's a fridge and freezer!_

A smile lifted Kankuro's lips as he dashed towards the seemingly massive fridge. Given their height, they found anything huge. The moment he reached the handle and pulled, there was nothing in the world whatsoever that could have prepared him for the mentally scarring image. Bullets of sweat enveloped his face and the his pupils shook before he stepped back slowly.

"Kankuro! Hurry up we need t-" once she looked over to her brother from the door, her reflexes brought her hand to her lips and guilt invaded her fragile body. What was this monstrosity?! Was that...what she thought it was? She wasn't stern enough towards her brother and hadn't been forceful enough to drag him out. Now, she could never forgive herself for letting Kankuro see something so disturbing. Even so, she was failing to fight the urge of not vomiting and scream. To let Gaara see such sight would kill him so when her hand covered his eyes, he screamed in response.

"Oneesan, what are you doing?!"

 _He heard that!_

The sounds of loud footsteps entered the room in the darkness. A gigantic adult eyed the little girl by the door, now holding his youngest brother as tightly as possible.

"What are you punks doing?!"  
He paused in his tracks when he realised Kankuro stared at the contents of the fridge. The darkest secret of the city was revealed, and a low growl left the owner's mouth.

"You fools..." the growl grew louder and faster until a hand reached for the knife on the table. With a yank, the crack on the table deepened and spread.

Kankuro gasped as sweat flew from his hair. It took a stumble for him to realise the reality of the situation and that they needed to just **run**. Never look back, just run. Temari and Gaara left behind a cloud of smoke from their head start run.

And now here they were. One against one.

Temari against the local murderer who stored body parts in his freezer and fridge.

One step forward, one step backwards. Two steps forward, two steps backwards. The sound of Temari's back hitting against the fence signalled the end, a dead end, with no escape. In a state of shock, she collapsed with her shaking soul and hands on the ground. The figure towered over her and blocked her view of the night sky, resulting in a mixture of anger, fear and sadness. Her last sight would be the view of the most ugliest man that breathed the same air as she did and she would die in unnatural, disgusting ways. When the man extended his arm backwards, the knife sparked in the night sky and the young girl saw her life flash before her eyes. They all had a dream, herself and her beautiful brothers. They were going to start an organisation of peace and opportunity, giving an equal chance to everyone and never saying no to anyone regardless of their experiences and background. If they all shared the same passion they did, it didn't matter if they were from the poorest, abandoned orphanages, or the grand palaces of the highest status. Passion and love was all that mattered and they were going to be the very best of the best. They would wake up one morning as successful adults with the biggest of smiles, and tell each other "we finally made it".

Temari didn't want to give up that dream, not just yet.

Fingers desperately travelled around the rough, dirty ground until she felt a sharp pain in her index finger. Her teal eyes hadn't left the blood thirsty pair staring at her but her instincts told her that her finger touched the tip of what felt like a shiv. This was it. This was her escape. In a flash, she placed her hand on the sharp object and ignored the sensation of blood trickling down her hand.

In one smooth motion, it was all over.

* * *

"It's okay Gaara shhhh. She'll be here soon," his arms wrapped around the little boy's shoulder. The smallest and youngest rested his little body next to Kankuro's as they both crouched.

"Oniisan...did she die? (2)"

He winced at his question. Of course not. Temari wouldn't die like that. All three had endured the most difficult situations and found a way out, this was no different.

"No Gaara, I'm alive and well."

The brothers looked up from their position to look at the fatigued girl with a trembling smile. The youngest stood up to hug his dear sister with open arms, but Kankuro felt doubt rise in the air. Her normally relaxed eyes hadn't looked that way whatsoever. Kankuro thought he smelt something salty, and perhaps flesh. Was it blood?

'What happened?' brown eyes asked with a frown.

Temari ensured Gaara's face was buried in her chest before Temari shook her head. It was not the time for that conversation, nor would it ever be for many many years. She hugged back tightly with her arms wrapped around his body.

"I'm sorry I couldn't find any food for today. Let's try again tomorrow when we're not too tired."

The girl carried Gaara in her arms before sitting next to Kankuro against the brick wall. She tickled his cheeks and nose as well as shaking Kankuro's hair; he grimaced, making Temari grin.

"Listen here you two. We're going to live our dreams."

She reminded them why they were doing all this, why they ran every busy night scavenging for food and why they always stuck together. It was to grow mentally and physically before inevitably becoming world conquerors.

"As in the organisation?"

Kankuro glanced towards his sister.

"Mhmm. Whilst we're at it, let's think of a name for ourselves."

Gaara looked up towards his sister's shining face and the night sky beneath them. His baby lips fell into a straight line as he brainstormed ideas.

"How about Kankuro and co.?"

"I'm the oldest here so if you're going to add a name it should be mine."

Temari spat with red burning her face. Kankuro could be so idiotic sometimes.

"But siiiiiiis it's a cool name."

"It really isn't."

"I think it is!"

"Trust me it really isn't."

"The Sand Siblings?"

"Eh?"

The bickering pair looked at the wisest of the three.

"S...sand. We play with it everyday and we...we're from the sand city."

In addition to being the wisest, he was simply creative and patient.

Temari looked at Kankuro as a blank canvas before her lips raised into a smile, showing her teeth.

"The Sand Siblings. I like it. It's catchy! Kankuro what do you think?"

The figure brought his hand to his chin and closed his eyes, eyebrows furrowing even more.

"Hmm I do like the other name more though."

"Kankuro."  
The stern tone of her voice sent shivers down his spine.

"Although I like this one too. Yeah! From this point onwards, we are the sand siblings."

The moon's brightness was nothing in comparison to Gaara's delighted face. It had been official and they were going to be unstoppable.

"We're going to tackle the world, just us 3."

"Nothing will stop us."

"No one is better than the Sand Siblings!"

"And nothing will tear us apart."

* * *

Years and years passed as they lived through the growth and eventual success of their dreams. The trio were unstoppable and no one could touch them otherwise. Blood may have been thick but sand was thicker. The siblings never went back on their word and would stick with each other through the darkest times.

Their rise to fame began from their unimaginable escapes from the police force and in worst case situations, even the army. People who wanted to be like the siblings began to find them, wanting to participate in their activities. But some of these people weren't getting the message: no one could join the Sand Siblings. It was just those 3 and those 3 only. That isn't to say they couldn't **help** others right? So the three had other plans.

"Hey, what have you always wanted to be?"  
It was the classic first question Kankuro would ask to those who approached them. The trio knew that those who begged to join them could have placed their passion elsewhere, becoming a better person and contributor to society rather than becoming criminals like them. They would be used to the puzzling faces that stared back at the three with some responses proving hard to not laugh at. But the siblings had to keep a straight face and a good composure if they wanted to look professional. With a stutter, they heard a variety of responses, ranging from the most ambitious to the most bizarre.

"A...doctor I guess? I want to save lives."

"Oh man how cool would it be to become the president?!"

"Judge me all you want but being a stripper seems cool. Sex appeal and sex itself is all about exploration and I'm ready to embrace it." (Temari would remember this request out of all others because the shades of red that enveloped her brothers' cheeks was hilarious to not laugh at. The days of puberty had rendered the boys curious after all, and it was the only time they lost their composure and Temari had respected the woman. She didn't give a shit about what anyone thought and she loved it.)

"Lawyer. Justice in this world is dying and I need to bring it back."

"The best teacher world!"

And many more ideas. As part of their organisation, they would help such people achieve their dreams and goals. For instance, they'd pay for particular clients' university fees to help those become the next major doctor or lawyer. Other ways included helping them achieve the experience for the jobs they wanted to do. (So imagine the brothers' shock when Temari had decided that they needed to escort the aspiring female stripper to strip clubs every evening. She would always see them come back with nose bleeds and she'd laugh so much). Although the most typical way of helping them meet their dreams happened to be more or less...how should we call it:

Illegal.

Certain people in the world just simply refused to provide opportunity for those less fortunate. Words would never seem to persuade those unwilling to budge their stereotyped, ignorant selves. So it was a tradition for the siblings to sigh before their actions did the deed. Some people would be tied up to chairs and threatened to provide that 'law firm job to the boy you've been purposely ignoring for 2 years' or to provide 'the girl that acting job she trained and has the talent for'. Many conformed to their threats without hesitation but then again, the very few hadn't been threatened by the group of youngsters.

The trio were just a "bunch of brats" after all, what harm could **they** do?

They would have to learn it the hard way when those beloved to them were one step closer to the death in a stroke of a knife, or their bank account was one click away from 10 figures to 0. By that point, they had everything. They gave those who asked for their help an opportunity, and they got it. They never failed to meet the demands of a single customer. So it was only customary that they would pay back.

This was how three teenagers took control of the hospitals, police forces, governments, schools and nightclubs of Sunagokure within the first few years of their career.  
Three so called 'brats' ran the entire city and eventually took control of neighbouring cities and more industrial services, spreading their power across multiple systems and places.

But things weren't all that they seemed.

Over the years, their perceptions on reality began to change. You could say that their visions were distorted and disturbed. Of course they had their wolf like instincts that hadn't failed them since the bakery incident. But when it came down to confronting what was right and wrong, their views were controversial. Their punishments were deadly and if one hadn't known their reasons for their various actions, they would be regarded as the coldest siblings ever.

When people had failed to meet their expectations or certain deadlines, the trio deemed for it to be appropriate to cut off the tip of their fingers. Just a little warning. Only a simple and fair warning. However, those who failed to repay debts after a while or hurt their comrades met justice in the eyes of the siblings: having their body parts removed, typically the hand. This represented the idea that with less body parts, they had to increasingly rely on others. And may God forbid those who dared to land a scratch or a scar on the siblings themselves, for they would fall into the sweet, delicious hands of death. And that was just the mere tip of the iceberg. They were capable of more.

Oh you wouldn't even **understand** the meaning of torture unless you messed with them. Their unnatural actions made hell look so cute.

Rumour has it that night, Temari had murdered the owner of the bakery store by landing her shiv in between a dangerous pair of eyes. The moment the owner's lifeless body struck the ground, a new feeling stirred in her heart. She begun to relish the feeling of murdering others in the name and love of her brothers; this was when the innocent girl's perception of hatred had changed and her idea of love was to always be very protective and mature

Love was protecting those who you'd die for.

Many years later in the dark streets of numerous cities, people gossiped that for anyone that hurt her siblings, male or female, she'd torture you by slashing 1000 cuts with knives **or** she'd use the powers of her breathtaking beauty and sex appeal to tease and seduce her victims, all before a dagger entered the centre of their forehead.

A dagger. Could you blame her for being old fashioned? She didn't like guns after all, not after she was 'almost' killed by one. Once her view of life begun to change, the domino effect hit her brothers.

When Kankuro was 12, he was separated from Temari and Gaara as they were running away from a police officer. Any shop to hide in was enough, so luck had it that he entered a shop deemed too terrifying for children like him to enter inside. Even adults cringed from the shop, such as the police officer who concluded that a kid like Kankuro wouldn't hide in here, it was too goddamn horrifying.  
When the child analysed his surroundings to see lifeless figures of wooden puppets hanging from the ceiling and different puppets of animals such as bears and birds presented along the window and walls, he found it aesthetically pleasing. The amount of time to smoothen the texture of the puppets, form sharp shapes and create many figurines showed dedication, and that was stunning to him. Turning towards the man at the counter, he expressed his amazement towards such puppets and the grey haired, dark skinned man smiled at his words. He even offered Kankuro to take one for free. It had been years since someone entered his shop, let alone compliment his years of work and the owner of the shop was one of the very few loyal people in Kankuro's life.  
When the siblings finally became successful and the puppet business was dying, Kankuro gave more than enough money for the shop and its art to continue. He hadn't even thought twice about it, he did it immediately. Despite their controversial and terrifying acts, the owner knew that they were all good people at heart and continued to carve and create puppets for his favourite customer until his sad passing. The puppet boy would lay flowers on his gravestone every Sunday morning, keeping the first ever puppet he took close by him.

Love, to Kankuro, was dedication. Those who displayed nothing but respect and loyalty were the most brilliant and worthy of promotions and rewards. This explained why out of the three siblings, the punishment for betraying Kankuro was one of the bloodiest and hereby the worst.

Finally, it was time for Gaara to have his revelations.

His case is rather complicated; he hadn't understood the idea of what was love as young as his siblings. Rumours say he still doesn't know the concept of it but that was a ridiculous lie. The truth was, he understood it the hard way. He was 15, Kankuro and Temari were 17 and 18 respectively. They were at the point where their career had took a massive turn for the better and were only becoming increasingly popular. Girls would swoon over the sight of Gaara and Kankuro but boys would drop to their knees at Temari's womanhood. Men idolised her curves and were attracted to her mysterious nature. Nevertheless, the siblings didn't care for relationships and were more focused on themselves, each other and their career. Their ideas of love only applied to each other and they wouldn't start to romantically notice other individuals until they were at the top of the world; that was their promise to each other.

One night, the siblings had approached another trio of males on the streets of Sunagokure. The boy in the centre demanded a fight, only to be declined by the siblings as they continued to walk. Their insults and taunts were ignored until one line paused them in their tracks.

"Why aren't you an all man squad? Women are sluts and have no power in this society."

Kankuro was the first to react, fist up and ready to beat the living shit out of the source of the voice.

"Don't bother Kankuro, they're nothing." Temari stopped her brother. She was used to this all her life hence why she'd take advantage of her womanhood to 'seduce' sexist men to death.

"Would a person who's 'nothing' do this?"  
Said person charged towards Kankuro followed by the second male, landing punches and kicks to the second oldest child. Gaara froze whilst his sister ran to help Kankuro, defending kicks and punches aimed towards him. Screaming at them to leave him alone, the leader of the trio pulled out two guns and aimed for the unconscious, bloody, beaten Kankuro and the so called 'slut'.

"You three don't know how to run a town like this properly. It's time to leave it to us."

Before his finger could ghost over the trigger, a knife was thrown from a distance to strike the neck of the leader. The red haired boy calmly walked towards the enemy, who still stood with blood leaking from his neck and mouth. The boys beside them had run away until they were shot in the head by their leader's guns.

So not only was Gaara wise, creative and patient, he was one hell of a shot without ever using a single gun before in his life.

"Do not threaten my brother and sister," he calmly spoke as the dying figure landed on his back. Dead bodies were the least of their concern because someone would clear it up for them. They had many links and in that scene, they were very thankful for it. Gaara dropped the two guns before kneeling over to look at Kankuro. Temari had already fed him water and patted away the blood on his face with a napkin. She knew he was going to be okay but if this happened years ago, his body wouldn't have been able to handle it.

"Since when did you learn how to use a gun?"

"Since never."

Despite the haunting situation, she managed to smile. Her brother was truly amazing.

"Gaara, if you can."

He nodded. A grunt escaped Kankuro's lips as the pair lifted him up and took them home to retrieve better care. Gaara's lips moved slightly upwards upon realising how far they've physically come. Their once poor and feeble bodies were able to lift each others' malnourished and parched bodies so easily. If anyone had known of what they used to look like back in the day, they'd die of shock. But given Kankuro's frequent visits to the gym, Temari's tessenjutsu (3) sessions and all three participating in martial arts classes, their bodies had undergone such drastic change. It was now becoming increasingly difficult to lift each other easily without a sweat. Upon seeing Temari fighting the strain of carrying his heavy brother, he praised her bravery to dive head first into a situation with unknown consequences. The element of bravery...he wanted to know more about such an astonishing thing. He wanted to practise it, learn about it and perhaps teach it one day. The idea of love and bravery together made sense to him, and it was what he chose to believe.

Love was protection, dedication and bravery.

So it was on that night all three of them had their ideas on love. The night was lined up. The scene was set. Kankuro had recovered from his injuries quickly and the siblings promised a better, pain-free world for those worthy of it.

.

.

.

Legend says that on this bloody, revolutionary night, one of the most notorious group of gangsters were born and ready to unleash hell:

The Sand Siblings.

* * *

 **A/N:** I will be continuing my other story too but I hope y'all like this so far! This story has more characters than the other one and is based in an alternative reality (imagine Tokyo, New York, London, it's more of a city vibe but with the same names from the Naruto series)

(1) Oneesan: older sister in Japanese  
(2) Oniisan: older brother in Japanese  
(3) Tessenjutsu: martial art involving the tessen

This world (clearly) has no ninjas and ninjutsu's but rather just weaponry and fights (hence the M rating)

I'd highly appreciate it if you could give a rating to see how I can improve and develop my writing.

Thank you all so much for reading it means a lot xx


	2. The Second Introduction

"Oi dobe, pass the sake."

"You're such an alcoholic."

But the 'dobe' threw the bottle across the room and saw him catch it smoothly with his envious reflexes. The cork of the bottle shot upon and flew across god knows where, then the recipient downed the contents of the bottle.

"Calm down with the drinking Sasuke, you can't be having liver cancer already."

The tip of the bottle left his lips with a satisfied smirk.

"That makes two of us Kiba."

The male with red stroke marks on his cheek crossed his arms and sank into the sofa.

"Touché Uchiha, touché."

The raven haired boy's smirk grew bigger as he walked towards the glass windows with the bottle in hand. The scene overlooked the city of Konoha from the highest of buildings and the city lights surrounded their luxurious apartment. He wouldn't get bored of the view, ever. This was the life he chose. He may have endured many losses such as the loss of his older brother and the rest of his family, but rest assured, he avenged his family and continued down the seemingly narrow pathway. No one told him that the end of the pathway was full of riches and promising worlds. So everyday, regardless of where he was and what he was doing - illegal or not - he was thankful for his family who raised him, fed him and taught him the secrets to life. Though they sadly weren't with him today, he now had a new family: his closest friends who he ran Konoha with. All they needed was each other.

"You both love alcohol so much yet it's going to kill you one day, how crap is that?"

Sigh. Trust the blond haired dobe to ruin the moment. Ironically, the blonde was his closest friend (him and alcohol of course). He brought him out of the darkness after the death of his family and supported his actions no matter how bloody or dirty they were. Whilst many shunned him and eyed him with disgust, him and his friends stood by him through thick and thin. It was a shame knowing his brother would've stood by him as well, if only he had lived.

"The very thing you love most kills you in the end Naruto."

Sasuke heard the blonde let out a 'hmph' before he jumped onto the sofa and switched on the television.

"That's because we're gangsters."

"'The thing you love most kills you in the end'. Sounds like a drag."

A black haired male entered the room with hands in his pockets and a cigarette. His dark eyes hovered over to the television screen to watch a bunch of males attempting to kick a ball into the goal. Man these guys were shit. How could they have not seen the open space to their right? What could have been a chance to score a goal disappeared.

"What the fuck are you doing, GO ROUND, GO ROUND." Naruto began to scream at the television, now standing and waving his hands around.

"GO BACK GO BACK fucking hell they're so shit." Kiba joined in with Naruto.

A chuckle left the smoker's lip as he approached the kitchen counter to pour himself a shot of an unopened bottle of sake. The fact that people like Sasuke and Naruto formed one of the most infamous group of gangsters in Konoha was beyond him. Although it was nice to have a relaxed, nice guys for a change. Plus it was more than just a privilege when the two had asked him and Kiba to work alongside them. There used to be 5 of them though, the absence of the cunning fifth member's judgement towards his friends felt weird. He was such an amazing guy. Shikamaru remembered when Naruto's drug habits almost cost him his own life after the passing of their dearest friend and the gang almost gave up on him. But in the end they realised that they would go to the very depths of hell to bring Naruto back to his normal self.

Sure, the group weren't exactly doing legal things and work was dark and demeaning every now and then. But a lot of gangsters nowadays are so serious and up their arse, why can't they just have someone relaxed and only properly serious when needs to be? Life was too short to be too mature and uptight. Drink, smoke, have sex, take drugs, do what makes you happy. Gangsters can easily give off an amazing reputation whilst doing secret, dirty work behind their image. They could do anything and get away with it. So might as well live a little right?

This was the main idea of the Konoha Four: live the fuck out of life, it'll kill you in the end anyway.

Along with several other minor businesses, their main ones were the big 4: alcohol, drugs, tobacco and weaponry. Of course, this way of life was optional and they would never force people to go into it. But the rewards in each of the four industries were enormous. When the four walked into any night club, any bar, any underground drug shops, everything was on the house for them. They made the businesses bigger than ever and provided thousands to millions of jobs. Illegal? Yeah, it was. They weren't going to beat around the bush. But where was the harm? They weren't forceful men, everything had to be fair in their eyes. The Konoha gangsters were ruthless and occasionally savage, yet (ironically) one of the most fairest and calmest groups of males.

However it is worth noting that getting on their bad side was just as bad as upsetting the Sand Siblings. Both groups were easily capable of causing death in the click of a finger or a blink of an eye. If the two groups joined forces and combined their businesses, hell would no longer be cute but rather a paradise.  
Out of the two, you'd rather piss off Sasuke because Naruto was significantly worse. They say that Naruto had the power of a legendary beast called the nine-tailed fox, the strongest of the wild beasts. When his temper unleashed, the results were messy, traumatising and sinful.

One night in a shoot out, Naruto had failed to see his own mistake which led to his friend's death. He could still remember letting down his guard as he flipped the table over and thought the coast was clear. It only took one second for him to realise that there was still one man left standing as the enemy rose up to aim and fire a bullet towards Naruto's neck. It all happened so suddenly: a man with long brown hair kicking Naruto out of the way to take the shot. When Naruto's body fell towards the ground and his face scratched against the shattered glass on the floor, he could taste the blood in his face and the sensation of a liquid drenching his shoes and trousers. When he realised he hadn't died, he darted to look behind him to see his comrade on the floor with a smile on his face, his breaths becoming shorter and shorter.

"Neji!"

The enemy aimed to fire again but had no bullets remaining. Cursing, he looked around him to find any gun under the trail of bodies. Naruto crawled towards him and placed his hand on his friend's cheek. He sat next to top of his head and fought back the tears that streamed down his dirty, bloody face.

"Stay with me Neji! Don't die on me it's okay it's ok-"

"Naruto," his coughs were gurgling and blood flooded his mouth, "it was an honour and...privilege to," another cough "call you my friend and w-" more coughs "work with you."

The blonde's hands wiped the blood off his mouth as he frantically shook his head in denial.

"Neji stop speaking like you're going to die! You're going to live an-"

"Take care-" his final cough "of my family. Please take...care of Hin...ata," his words trailed off into a whisper. Neji's skin felt colder and his pulse weakened and weakened until it stopped. Everything stopped.

Hyūga Neji had died because of Naruto's mistake. (1)

The raven haired boy stormed in from the entrance with the smoker on his side and stared at the body beneath Naruto.

"Fuck."

Silence engulfed the blood bath of bodies, glass and bullets. Naruto hadn't felt this empty since he found out his parents had died for him, the same people that killed his parents now killed Neji too. His dead smile stared at Naruto's lost blue eyes, and the vision of everything became watery and blinding. Neji's blood continued to drench Naruto's trousers and the animal inside him began to thirst for the enemy's death. A low, hungry growl tickled his throat as his eyes darted to the right from the sound of a gun being loaded.

"Shit! Naruto get down!"

He did the opposite. Lifting himself up, he threw himself towards the source of the voice behind the bar counter. The enemy dropped his gun from Naruto's tackle and was left hopeless by his punches. Every punch became stronger and faster, dislocating the jaw, breaking his teeth, breaking his bones, denting the eyes. Every contact with his face was met with Naruto's screams and cries.

"You" a strong punch "killed" a stronger punch "HIM."

"Naruto stop." Sasuke calmly spoke through his dry throat, but a pair of empty ears hadn't listened to him. He thought Naruto noticed Sasuke when he stood up and turned his body towards the counter. But when Naruto dragged the enemy's head to slam against the counter repeatedly, Sasuke hadn't expected it at all, nor had Shikamaru. The head hit the sharp edge of the counter, slicing a deeper and deeper dent into the male's forehead until the top of his brain was exposed, blood all over the enemy's face and Naruto's hands. The fox inside him was even thirstier and wasn't satisfied enough with the enemy's slow, gruesome death.

"Naruto that's enough," Shikamaru spoke to get some sense into Naruto. Surely with an IQ over 200, Shikamaru must have known that animals were popular for their ruthless nature? They wouldn't stop at any point doing what they wanted to do until it was achieved and in that moment, Naruto wanted revenge. He would be sure to achieve it after he killed the same group of men who killed his parents and after Sasuke had killed all of those associated with his family's massacre. The fight was only beginning and this man's death was just a microscopic part of his goal.

"NARUTO STOP."  
Sasuke's roar led to a final blow of the enemy's head at the edge of the counter, with the top of his head fully detached from the rest. The pair of sea blue eyes stared back at a navy pair, his white pupils trembling and slowly coming to a halt. The animalistic urge to kill disappeared. Then came the unstoppable tears whilst he stumbled backwards until his back hit the wall. Head down, rains of tears dripped onto the floor along with his cries. He left a bloody hand print on the wall as his cries intensified and he collapsed onto the floor of bodies. The fist in his hand tightened and the overpowering smell of death struck his nose.

"It's all my fault. Fuck...Neji...I'm so fucking sorry."

These were not rumours. Naruto had severed the top part of a man's head with his bare hands. No guns. No knives. Just the muscles in his arms and the tailed beast inside him.

Neji's last request carved itself in Naruto's mind. If Naruto failed to protect the Hyūga clan, he promised to leave his gangster paradise and give himself into the police. If he failed to protect the soft spoken, elegant, blue haired wonder, he promised to end his life in prison. Nothing else could stop Naruto from doing such things and so, he'd always visit the Hyūga compound everyday and pray at Neji's tombstone. He'd greet Hiashi and his two children, ensuring that they were safe from harm. Regardless, if Neji took a bullet for a foolish blond, Naruto would endure a thousand bullets for each Hyūga member that still existed. It was the least he could do for his late friend.

Unbeknown to Naruto, the blue haired beauty had feelings for him. To judge by a book by a cover was a lesson she was never taught and Hyūga Hinata knew better than most people that Naruto had such dedication towards his friends, not even words couldn't even describe it. She never blamed him for her cousin's death and knew it wasn't his fault. Though she lacked the knowledge of the gangster lifestyle, she was smart enough to know that the enemy slyly concealed himself from Naruto and Neji's surroundings by hiding underneath the pile of bodies. Yet Naruto blamed himself. His overprotecting nature of visiting the compound and seeing Hinata would make him smile somehow, knowing he was making Neji happy up there in heaven. Seeing Naruto made Hinata's heart flutter and cheeks fluster. She knew that if she told him how she felt, he'd respectfully deny her heart's thoughts. She knew that he would never deem himself to be worthy of being with, let alone marry Hinata and enter the Hyūga clan. He didn't want to make things worse if his enemies targeted Hyūga clan.  
But that wasn't the case at all. The Hyūga clan were stronger than most people knew, and Hinata was more than capable of defending herself, her younger sister and her father with just her palms. Hinata had undergone strict training such that she could paralyse her enemies with smooth, elegant strikes towards the various pressure points of the body; she brought the beauty in the pain. But she accepted that a relationship with Naruto would never occur.

Although, she'd be lying if she said that she didn't hope for it to happen.

"WHY AREN'T YOU GOING AROUND, GO TO THE RIGHT! No left left left LEFT."  
The blond goof changed the direction of his swaying arms every time he noticed an open space.

The smoker behind him held his cigarette as he downed a shot, poured another, took a smoke and downed another. He felt the warm body of an animal poking him by the knees.

"Oh Akamaru. Hey boy, I doubt you can drink this." Shikamaru joked as he ran his hand through the dog's head. Akamaru's tongue dangled in response, with a smile stretching his lips.

"Akamaru! Don't go someone who smells like fags, here boy!" Akamaru had left to approach his owner, sitting in front of him as he ate the food from Kiba's hand. This formed a smile on the owner's lips.

"I don't smell like cigarettes at all. It's merely you and your troublesome senses," Shikamaru defended himself.

"Hey my senses reveal more than what people say. You'd be surprised how I can smell a person from miles away and who someone slept with."

"That's disgusting dude."

"Hey I never said I voluntarily smell that! It just comes naturally. Believe me I wouldn't exactly want to know either."

"Of course not, pervert."

Naruto and Shikamaru laughed at Sasuke's comment.

"Who you calling pervert? I've been smelling the same person from you for the past two weeks now and you say it's just a fling?"

Sasuke felt all three curious and suspicious pairs of eyes on him.

"Tch. Your senses are delusional from the alcohol."

"You had half that bottle."

"You had the other bottle, I'm holding the third one this evening."

A phone call put a stop to their little argument. Sasuke answered with a calm voice and turned away to look at the view.

"Wait so you can actually smell another person on someone?" Naruto turned towards him, not believing in Kiba's words.

"You may be a fucking crazy animal Naruto but your senses will never be as good as mine."

 _'My friends are so strange_ ' Shikamaru thought before finishing his cigarette. Reaching into his pocket, he frowned upon the empty pack staring back at him.

"Hey remind me to go get more cigarettes."

"You're the only one into that stuff and it's mank."

"And alcohol and cocaine isn't? You're insulting a quarter of your profits Naruto."

"I'm not the one with black lungs!"

"I don't have a damaged liver."

"That's such a lie we all do."

That was annoyingly true.

"Yours is a lot worse than mine though."

The phone call ended and Sasuke had turned to look at his partners in crime.

"Naruto you're the driver. We need to go."

"What's up?"

"Drug business deal opened up."

"Yatta! (2) Let's go!" Naruto's smile enlarged as he switched off the disappointing football game and the four left the apartment.

Game time.

* * *

They walked towards their local casino, located in the heart of Konoha. Secluded and vibrant, the four nodded at the two bodyguards by the door. Naruto would always want a high five from the both of them just for respect and friendship whereas Shikamaru would offer a cigarette or two. How could one say the Konoha Four were rude when they would share their resources with anyone that allowed them too?

Down the stairs was a red door, hiding what every man in Konoha's dreamt of. Pushing the door open, the same scenery would never bore the four. The red carpet covered the floor with brick walls surrounding the underground casino. Dots of light scattered across the ceiling to provide a relaxing yet lively ambience. Brown leather seats and TV screens on the walls had welcomed customers. The disappointing football game was still on and no one had scored yet, much to Naruto's chagrin.

"It's still 0 all. How shit are they?"

"Could use some investment in the football industry don't ya think?" Kiba suggested but Naruto shook it off.

"Nah, they have more than enough apparently. Much good they're doing right?" The pair laughed before Naruto gave a good pat on Kiba's back.

"They're beyond bad. Hey, if they score in the next 30 minutes, 5 shots are on me."

"You do realise they know us and would give us the drinks for free right?"

"Shikamaru don't take the fun out of it! You're on!" The pair shook hands before planting their eyes onto the TV screen.

"Enough you two. We have business over there." Sasuke rolled his eyes before walking towards the edge of the casino. A transparent, black curtain separated the ordinary customers from the very prestigious members. He'd plant his eyes onto it and ignore the figures of females and males taking their customer's orders. One however was particularly attractive, with her unique pink hair and the diamond on her forehead. The corner of his eyes saw her walk away with a little smile on her face, with her luscious legs walking towards the bar to request the drinks. Nevertheless he stood by the curtain and waited for his blonde friend to arrive.

"Naruto you know this isn't our speciality. You definitely have to go now and unless you guys text us, we're entitled to stay here." Shikamaru saw the growing annoyance in Naruto's face as he realised the truth of his words.

"Urghhh I hate it when you're right." Straightening his suit, he walked towards Sasuke with an annoyed look. It still hadn't stopped females to look at him with a little wink or a with a kiss they blew towards him. Naruto's cheeks were engraved with the same whiskers the represented the legend of the tailed beast, but he hadn't realised that it was an apparently 'attractive trait'. Quite frankly, he was very slow with women, their signals and his feelings towards them. That isn't to stay only one would ever catch his attention but would never be his. Not now anyway, not until he redeemed himself.

The two disappeared beyond the curtains, leaving Kiba and Shikamaru to do whatever they wanted. They could eat any food they craved or any drugs that irked their interest in the click of a finger. Anything was possible for the two. So what was Shikamaru's first thought?

"I need a cigarette, you wouldn't happen to have one would you?"

Of course he'd choose a cigarette.

The waiter pulled out a pack.

"You can keep it all sir."

"You don't need to call me sir it's okay. Thanks a lot," he slid money across the counter towards the waiter.

"Take it, it's fine."  
The waiter smiled at Shikamaru's command before walking away to serve others. He turned back to Kiba with a cigarette in his mouth, offering the contents from the pack.

"That stuff would kill me quicker than drugs and alcohol combined."

"Tch you're being silly. Alcohol is s-oh the guy just scored," he turned to his companion who now gleamed at the television and threw his fists in the air.

"You can start your celebrations," smoke emerged from Shikamaru's lips as he looked over the bottle of alcohol now next to him. Thanking the bartender, Kiba smirked as he took his shots. Akamaru sat on the stool next to him and ate the food that was specifically prepared for him. The Konoha gangsters believed in a world of respect: a simple thank you could bring you more benefits than a simple nod of acknowledgement or ignoring a nice gesture. Every time the bartender voluntarily improved the gangster's good vibes, they'd be met with overly generous tips and thank you's.

As if life wasn't already good enough, it had gotten better. Naruto had a grin whilst Sasuke smirked as the two approached their friends. Naruto wiped the imaginary dust off his hands and Sasuke's hands rested in his pockets.

"We have bigger profits now."

Sequences of 'yes's and smiles brightened the four friends' moods.

"Oh and Naruto thank you for the drinks." Kiba pointed at the screen, with the score now shouting 2-0.

"EHHH?! I was gone for 5 minutes!"

"Here, have some alcohol to drown your sorrows." Kiba teased as he held up a drink to him which Naruto accepted with a pout.

"It's free so why are you upset?"

"Still..."

They couldn't help but laugh at Naruto's peculiar side, sometimes he never failed to amuse them. They all poured themselves a drink before turning to each other.

"Here's a toast: to us."

"The Konoha Four."

"And to Neji as well."

Oh Neji. They missed him dearly, but this day was for him. One shouldn't feel sorrow over his death, but respect over his endless lists of accomplishments.

"Hear hear!" The four cheered as they downed the contents of the glass, ready for more.

They were untouchable and had it all. Through the endless moments they shared with each other, from the good and bad memories, from the lowest moments they had to the euphoria of reaching the top of the top, they were happy to do it all together. Not as friends, but family. Not as a bunch of criminals, but as human beings. Nothing could break their bond and god forbid anyone that tried to hurt them otherwise.

.

.

.

Tonight, located in the centre of dreams, was all about the celebration and successes of one of the most notorious group of gangsters:

The Konoha Four.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hope you're enjoying it all so far!

(1) I will be referring to whole names in Japanese terms. So I will write their surname first, then their first names.  
(2) 'Ya-tta' is Japanese for 'yay'/'woo hoo'

Also sorry but in this story Neji isn't alive. However I'll write scenes with their past experiences with him to keep the memory of him going.  
Some other characters will still be alive though (you'll see later I don't want to spoil it for now huehue)


	3. 1

Delicate fingers held a black, lace fan with a velvet design of cherry blossoms. The guard of the custom made fan was made of steel, yet her strength had made it look so light. She fanned herself with her most trusted weapon in her navy dress, with a red sash that hugged her waist. She was located in one of the most largest ballrooms of Sunagokure, with pillars and floor made of marble and a diamond chandelier hanging from the centre of the ceiling. Glass windows surrounding the female gave the perfect 360 degree view of the sky, with the moon setting the scene. Waiting for her brothers, she watched the joyous faces of her loyal customers, friends and billionaires conversing with one another. She stood alone from the interior balcony and distanced herself from others, but she was fine with it. It was difficult for a woman of her status to ever have 'normal' conversations with others. Given her sexually appealing and intimidating nature, men who were brave enough to approach her were all pigs and saw her as nothing less than an object. Being the seemingly inferior gender in such a tough job like hers, she refused to be controlled. She flourished as a role model for aspiring ladies who looked up to her and she wanted to show those ignorant bastards who was the real fucking boss.

However, it would be nice for people to respect her as the person she was. Just for once.

"Oi Temari."  
Perfect. One example of someone who always saw her as an equal.

"So lovely of you to talk to your sister that way Kanky," she turned towards the brown haired man with lines of purple face paint, starting from his eyes and ending at the bottom of his chiseled face. She thought the face paint would be a teenage phase but much to her surprise (and chagrin), he continued to use it. Despite her endless complaints of him looking 'stupid', he argued that it gave him a unique feature and people were intimidated by it. If more people were scared of him then there was a higher likelihood of them conforming to the siblings' demands and standards. Easy money right there, all from 'stupid' face paint.

"How many times have I told you to not call me that?"

She smirked and continued to wave her fan.

"No one's around Kanky it's okay."

The jokes died in the air as Kankuro's face turned serious. Straight lips and sharp eyes stared at Temari, who realised now something was wrong.

"What happened?"

"Sakon's gone rogue."

Her wrist stopped moving the object in her hand.

"What?"

"He still hasn't given us a penny of our money."

Smooth fingers closed her fan with a 'clank', indicating the unmistakable sound of tough, painful steel. Uncharacteristically, she chuckled.

"8 months. 8 months and he still hasn't paid back a single thing?" The grip on her fan tightened.

"We made him successful! I'm pretty sure he's having sex with some stripper in the back of his own club so what the fuck is going on?!"

"Kankuro you know what's happening you just don't want to accept it."

"He's avoiding us," a softer voice joined the conversation. The once cute, plump cheeked boy was now the living epitome of handsome, with his sharp jawline and his 'love' tattoo on the corner of his head. All three of them had come such a long, long way.

"Gaara?"

"He presumes that he's incredibly powerful and no longer needs to acknowledge us."

"That's bullshit."

"No Kankuro he's right. That Sakon always thought he was above everyone, we just felt pity for him." Temari reflected back on their mistakes as they gave such a disgusting excuse of a human being the chance to dream big. And the dream was big indeed, with Sakon now having his own brand of nightclubs. The Sand Siblings did all of that. They made him the big guy he is today. But when Sakon's power developed and he decided to bring brothels into the business, there were problems. The trio don't agree with such service. People could do whatever they wanted but the three would openly refuse to earn profits and own shares of houses were people sold their bodies to strangers.

So when the trio formed a simple agreement with him, why had it taken so long? Sakon's business flourished days after it formed. Surely someone who became so popular in a matter of days could pay off debts and agreements towards their business partners after a month or two? Not 8 months? Not 243 days? Now that was unfair and a form of betrayal. What had that meant?

"He relies on his right arm the most. It'd be funny to see him walk round with just one arm, who'd sleep with him after that?"

Kankuro smirked as he cracked the bones in his knuckles and neck. It had been a while since he had the pleasure of beating the shit out of someone, which was a good and bad thing he supposed.

"Now?" She asked.

"Yeah."

Confirmation from Gaara allowed the three to leave the extravagant scene to enter a deadly, dirty territory. Normally, they'd leave their captains and guards to the messy stuff but when it was **personal** to the siblings, they'd enter the scene.

* * *

The four had stood outside for fresh air and a breather. Despite the lively atmosphere underground, the Spring air was more than necessary. The stars in the sky swayed with the breeze of the wind, with the smoke from Shikamaru's cigarette fading into the thin air. The taste of tobacco eased him and was his utopia, he hadn't cared of its health consequences. Meanwhile, one of the most dangerous gangsters in Konoha was arguing with his other friend whereas the other dangerous male took another important phone call.

"Kiba NO!"

"What?!"

"That's not how you do it!"

"But when the bird is about the approach the green pipes you stop tapping and let it fall!"

"The bird can't fall that fast you gotta let it fall way before that!"

"You only downloaded the game after your deal!"

"I know better than you dog breath!"

Shikamaru peeped over to look at Kiba's phone screen. A pixelated bird had only touched a millimetre of the green pipe before the sound of game over rang.

"Fuck! Look what you did dobe, I was on 23"

Of the Konoha Gangsters, 2 were officially arguing over a game of flappy bird.

 _Maybe they're a bit **too** relaxed..._

"I see."  
The dark tone of Sasuke's voice brought the three to look at his trembling shoulders. Kiba locked his phone and Shikamaru let his unfinished cigarette rot in the ground. To hear and see Sasuke's body ever so slightly shake meant business: someone was going to die tonight.

The end of the phone call and his furious eyes confirmed their suspicions.

"Sakon's running."

Blood boiled in their bodies, adrenaline at an all time high. Naruto's hand formed into a fist as he clenched his jaw and teeth.

"WHAT?!"

"Calm down Naruto," Kiba placed his hand on the blonde's shoulder. He knew all too well that Naruto would react like this and calming him was the first move. Kiba saw Naruto's eyes and shoulders starting to relax, his breathing becoming slower and calmer. Turning around towards Sasuke, he remembered something important.

"He isn't far from here. We can catch him within the next 20 minutes."

"I'll make it 10," Naruto spat as he stormed over to the car. His friends had sighed and knew it was too late and there was no going back. Once Naruto was pissed, he was **pissed**. Obviously they all were, they've just been betrayed! The case was different to the blonde though. This guy had insulted the Hyūga family and was a dick from the start, showing no care for Neji's death. Naruto turned away business from Sakon trillions of times but his friends managed to pull him through, provided that they'd earn so much money in return. But where was it? They've been waiting almost...7 or 8 months for the money they were promised.

It wasn't there.

So Naruto was going to beat it out of him.

* * *

They made it in 5 minutes thanks to no traffic. Going at a speed of 100 miles an hour brought back Shikamaru and Kiba's belief in God for surviving. Naruto's driving was a catastrophe and they were more likely to die in the car with Naruto's driving than in a shootout.  
He parked the car around the corner of the strip club, loading his guns and shoving them in his blazer pockets, shirt pockets, and on his legs underneath his trousers. His peers were doing the same, collecting a few knives here and there. Kiba and Sasuke had preferred using sharp objects the most. Given their fast reflexes and tremendous speed, they could throw anything with perfect aim in under a second.

Using cigarettes and a lighter as a weapon was quite underrated, Shikamaru thought. They all had escaped many death-defying situations with just the tip of his burning cigarette and a flicker of his lighter. Simply put: starting a fire was so easy when no one looked at where you chucked your cigarette or when you had used your lighter. A memory flung to mind, making him smirk.

It was a shoot out against the Amegakure guys, and they were insane. The four had spread out and had no chance of joining each other without getting shot in the head. Deafening noises of gunfire and shouts prevented Shikamaru of thinking of an escape plan or a plan to win the fight. However their ammo was low and their stamina had dropped dramatically. He was behind the table in the far right, aiming the table straight ahead where the guys were. With time running out, the situation was getting worse and worse, especially after Kiba had took a blow to the shoulder. The smoker boy's feet had touched something with a 'clink', causing him to divert his attention. The corner of his eyes saw a glass cup chipped in half but still containing the contents of whisky. Suddenly his head ducked at the sound of enormous gunfire and an idea lit up. Grabbing the drink, he cut off parts of his shirt to cover the top the glass. Peeping over the table, he knew he had to do it all in one go. He needed to do it the moment before the Amegakure gang fired their last gun shot so he listened out for a pattern. 8 fast shots, 2 slow ones and 4 quicker ones. That was it.

So he waited. His ears heard the sound of exhaustion and guns being loaded. The first 8 shots rang.

Now.

Lighting the shirt attached to the glass on fire, he threw the contents towards the table after the last shot rang in the air. The sound of the glass breaking was followed by bloodcurdling screams and the smell of fire burning flesh. As they screamed, Naruto and Shikamaru took their cue to eliminate their enemies whilst Sasuke carried Kiba away from the scene. To this day, they never took the mick out of Shikamaru's fighting strategies; he'd turn a simple object into a work of art. That doesn't mean his smoking habit were good though.

Finally, Naruto was a major fan of guns. Hands down, he was the most enthusiastic about it and to say he was a 'good' shot was an understatement. But he heard about the stories of this one guy with red hair and a love tattoo, who had scored a two head shots at once when he was 15. Plus, he had never used a gun before in his life. And Naruto thought that was the sickest thing ever. The blonde hadn't achieved his first head shot until 18 whilst the other guy was probably on his thousandth head shot by then! He forgot his name and the gang he was involved in but he wished he'd meet the guy, no matter how intimidating or powerful he was. Just being able to pay respects to the other guy would make his day and month. Gangster to gangster, Naruto wanted that respect from others and damn straight he was going to do so one day.

For now however, they had some business to attend.

"You know I don't have any problems with strip clubs but this one is so fucking nasty."

"Oh we know you don't mind going to strip clubs."

"Shut up dobe."

The arrival of another car from the far corner of the street caught the attention of Sasuke and Naruto. The front lights on the car disappeared into the dark night as three figures emerged to enter the strip club.

"Sasuke."

"Ah," he nodded.

The two figures at the back brought themselves forward to view the three strangers in the distance.

"Who are they?"

"I can't tell. One has markings on his face?"

"It that a female?"

"Beats me. Let's go."

After the three had entered the club, the four of them followed with a stern look. The feeling of unfamiliarity burned Naruto's stomach inside and had made the others uncomfortable. The absence of people by the entrance had made it worse; there'd always be someone here. The blonde gave his friends a final look before they nodded and they sneaked inside.

Immediately, the smell of sweat and alcohol invaded their senses. You could mistake such a scene for a brothel if you had no eyes and ears. Ahead of the four lied tables and leather, black chairs, with a long stage towards the left side of the room. Silver poles surrounded the stage whilst a golden one stood at the centre of the stage. Strippers were supposed to be equal in attractiveness and talent, but not in Sakon's eyes. There were always rankings, and the very best of the best would be the star of the show by the golden pole. The crowd of drunken men admired and eyed the different performers as well as the vulnerable waitresses in more than just revealing attire. Their red uniforms consisted of lace thongs and bras, with fishnet stockings and high heels. It was difficult to say that the women weren't sexy and sensuous but their uncomfortable faces said that this was against their will.

Not only did that completely killed the sensational element about each of these waitresses, it was nowhere near okay to feel uncomfortable in these situations. The Konoha gangsters knew that. They were human too and they knew how feelings worked, despite all the sins they committed.

"This is disgusting," Kiba spat.

"Yeah. Let's just get this over and done with." They had approached the centre of the scene to look for the manager of this god forsaken place. Their eyes had hovered over sights of things they didn't mean to see and things that made them want to punch these drunk, disrespectful males. It was no use, they couldn't find him.

"It would be a relief to see a woman with clothes right now."

Shikamaru's wish came true as he saw the similar silhouettes of the three figures across the room.

Wait.

Was that who he thought it was?

If all those infamous rumours matched what he could see, then it was **them** and there was no mistake about it.

"Sasuke. Look over there."

As the raven haired boy followed his command, his eyes narrowed.

"I see them."

"What's up? Wh- oh for fuck's sake," Kiba groaned. Tonight was going to be a very, very ugly night.

Naruto simply had no idea what was going on or what his friends were looking at. Oh no, they weren't just three normal people at all. These were the same three people many gangsters looked up to and were frequently compared with the Konoha Gang. There had been no pictures of the trio, only rumours and whispers. One would say that you'd definitely know it was them by the irony of the siblings' extremely different features. You'd expect them to have the same eyes, same hair colour or same looks. But what was the dead give away?

Well, many people would express their distaste towards the male with 'the purple face paint' whereas others would brag about the youngest with the 'red, love tattoo'. And those rumours had come to life that night, with the Konoha boys staring at the males with the matching descriptions. What was perhaps most shocking was the oldest being a female, sexist as sounds. People would only refer to the chartreuse haired woman as 'the oldest' by her command, for she loved to surprise people by her hourglass figure, porcelain skin and flirtatious smile. Although they did hear stuff about the oldest 'seducing' victims to death, they shrugged off that rumour. It didn't make sense to the Konoha gang or anyone that hadn't come across her.

Tonight would be the first time the Konoha Four and the Sand Siblings crossed paths. Perhaps it was time for this to happen.

And what better place was there to meet than a strip club?

"Let's split up."

* * *

"Here? I'd rather die."

"That's an option for people like us Kankuro. People love to put a bounty over our heads." Temari had looked over the sight of the plain, brick building. No decorations, no bodyguards, no fancy lights. A degrading feeling entered the very pit of her stomach as she cringed on behalf of all the women inside. Trust Sakon to create such a mentally scarring place.

"I'm creeped out. To think we contributed to something like this."

"No, this wasn't part of the agreement." Gaara defended.

Loading their guns and sharpening their knives, the three got out of the car and walked towards the dead building. Although they felt as if they were being watched, they all shuddered it off; they had more important things to take care of. Temari tightened the hair band on her four pigtails, a sharp pin hiding inside each of them. She was labelled 'childish' for the hairstyle she adopted since she could remember. However she refused to let her hair down otherwise, where else could she hide her four pins? Each with a microscopic drop of death on the tip? Thanks to Kankuro's interests in puppets and poison, the three had developed a chemical that they only knew how to get recover from and could paralyse the body in a matter of seconds. His influence came from the legendary puppeteer, Sasori. They hadn't thought Kankuro's poison worked until they first tried it in a deadly, last minute resort. To this day, each of the three carry the poison in different forms and ways.

"Never thought I'd say that I feel overdressed."

"It's definitely not something to be ashamed about."

The three had walked past the mob of men and waitresses, seeking refuge on the other side of the room.

"Never said it was," Temari had now been waving her fan frantically. The heat inside was unbearable and the absence of windows explained why that was. If Sakon was going to keep their money, he could have invested in some goddamn air conditioning.

"Where is he?" Gaara's eyes travelled across the room.

"There's too many people here." Kankuro responded.

"Let's split. I'll ask the bartender."

"He knows who you are Temari."

"Precisely," the woman smirked as she cat walked her way towards the empty red bar with an impressive collection of drinks. The man behind the counter was currently wiping the table with his head down. Taking a seat, she spun her fan playfully and rested her elbows on the shining table. Her hands supported her tilted head, looking at the bartender with her innocent smile.

"Sorry we're not ope-" the bartender froze at the sight of the unmistakable woman, it was **really** her. "Oh! Hello there miss, how can I help?"

Temari's smiled curved upwards as she purposely controlled the red blush on her cheeks.

"It's a little hot in here don't you think?"

Her fan created the well needed breeze for Temari whilst the bartender stuttered, straightening his black tie and tucking in his white shirt.

"Er... yeah! Yeah it is. Perhaps whiskey with three cubes of ice?"

The smile evolved into a smirk.

"That sounds delicious," her fan now moved more slowly, calmly, taking control of the scene. The bartender grabbed the shiniest glass in his sight, opening the most deluxe brand of whiskey. Three evenly sized cubes of ice entered the drink and with a smooth pass towards the woman, the drink was finished in a matter of seconds.

"Another? On the house."

"Thanks." She passed the glass back with a wink.

The two were unaware that a small round table near the counter was now occupied by a particular black haired boy, with his ponytail and cigarette. Looking at the candle on the table, he emptied the burnt parts of his cigarette onto the ash tray and listened to the conversation. Having an interest in strippers wasn't his style; he'd have to be incredibly drunk for that to happen.

"Say, I'm looking for a guy around here." The tip of her index finger swirled her new drink, ice hitting each other with a clink. Teal eyes focused on the man's body language and facial expression. There was no denying that he knew who she was and that was a fact. Although given his shaking pupils and twitching fingers, he meant good. His Adam's apple was straining to hold his nervous gulp and knowledge of the situation. You could tell he didn't ask for this sort of life. Being a bartender? Maybe but here of all places? No. Obviously not.

"Is that so miss?"

She sucked the drop of liquid on her index finger, the exquisite burn of the alcohol in her throat. The movements of her fan were now slower than ever.

"Mhm. It seems to me that you know very well who I'm talking about."

The dim light still managed to highlight the oncoming sweat on the man's forehead and fidgeting pulse. He straightened his tie again with a forceful pull as Temari signalled him to come closer with the wave of her fan. Obliging, he was inches away from her face until her fan closed with a clank.

 _'Steel. How could a fan be made of steel?'_ Shikamaru thought with furrowed eyebrows.

Her light pink lips ghosted over the bartender's ear, her breathing stirring butterflies and dragons inside him.

"And I would more than just appreciate it if," she reopened her fan with the sound of blades deafening his ear, "you could tell me where he was?"

The fan entered its second form, with the recognisable sound of blades on each alternating, inner spoke of the fan. You see, this custom made fan was more than just what it looked like. The first form was the form Temari had showed everyone; the sexy, lace black design with a small purple circle in the middle. When she closed the fan and reopened it with a spin, the same lustrous design was merely hidden by thin blades of steel. This time, there'd be two purple circles on the right and left side of the fan. Now, the third form of the fan was rarely used. So rare that no one had actually known what it was, so it remained a secret. Better yet, there was an extra touch to the final form.

Maybe people would know about it sooner than they thought.

"I... I cannot tell you. My wife will die." The man sighed in defeat, knowing that he would die tonight the moment Temari approached him.

"You can."

The smoker inhaled a deep breath, burning more than half of his cigarette before he breathed out. What had they done? The gang brought Sakon to the very tip of the world and people beneath him were suffering because of it. Now, Sakon had to fall from the top of the mountain.

Before he could hear the bartender's response, the sound of a unrequested drink hit his table. In shock he looked up to see a brown haired figure with rainbow coloured feathers in her hair and from the straps of her bra smiling upon the smoker boy.

"It's on us," she winked before she bounced away, her behind creating cat calls from drunk customers. Shikamaru would be lying if he said he hadn't looked at her walking away, he guessed he couldn't help it. The sound of the woman's heels to his left hit the floor as she stood up with a smile. The exposed steels in her fan disappeared and it returned to how it looked earlier. Walking away from the counter, he cursed. One distraction was all it took to miss out on important information.

Well, that wasn't so true. He knew that the fan must have been specifically tailored to the eldest of the Sand Sibling's interests and it was also a dangerous weapon.

Temari gathered her brothers in the centre of the room and pointed towards a figure in the corner with her fan.

"There."  
Gaara eyed the light blue haired male with a bottle in his right hand and a woman to his left.

"Fucking pig," Kankuro hissed.

"Let's go." They walked through the crowd with ease, strangers moving out of the way for the prestigious trio.

* * *

"Any luck?" Kiba took the seat opposite Shikamaru.

"No. I almost had it but some waitress distracted me."

The man with the red marks raised an eyebrow.

"Huh? Thought you were more reserved than that Shikamaru."

"What no not like that! She slammed a drink on the table and I couldn't hear what the bartender said to her."

"Fuck. We'll just have to look around. The guy at the bar isn't even there anymore I think he ran off."

Shikamaru swore again at the sight of nothing behind the bar counter to his left. The drinks were already put away and the bar was now permanently closed for the evening.

"He's probably ran home to his family. They're looking for Sakon too."

"What? Is he mugging them off too?"

"I bet. Guy like him running away from two groups of gangsters. Sounds so troublesome," the hold of his gun inside his pocket became stronger. The two stood up to walk around and were more focused than ever. Naruto was at one side of the room on the look out whereas Sasuke stood by the wall, hawk eyes searching a pair of terrified, drunk eyes with blue hair and a foul smile. Reuniting with the four, they all reported their limited information. Turns out Shikamaru had the most information out of all of them.

"I think we're going to have to do this the ugly way."

"Why didn't you say so earlier?! I'll kick down all the rooms in this place."

"Naruto calm it. You can do that later."

"The Sand Siblings are looking for them too," Kiba warned.

"Tch." Sasuke laughed. "They don't scare me whatsoever but I know better than to expect little from them. Especially the red head."

"Sand Siblings...?"

"Naruto, don't you know about them? You're way too slow at the worst moments."

"Oi shut up Kiba!" Naruto's head snapped towards his comrade's direction.

"They're the three we saw earlier. It's like people seeing us and not knowing who we are; that's how silly you sound right now Naruto." Shikamaru lit up another cigarette.

Naruto's hand grabbed his chin as he frowned, eyes at the top right corner. The name sounded familiar...and consisted of two males and one female. One had red hair as Sasuke just said. What about the other two? What did they look like?

"Nah. I have no idea."

The three other males sighed until Sasuke looked away from their friends to find the familiar three opening a red door by the stage. He softly hit Naruto on the arm to grab his attention, now looking towards the raven haired boy's direction. A nod from them both, Naruto dragged the other two and they all made their way towards the room.

"This is going to be troublesome."

* * *

 **A/N:** Thank you for reading, tell me what you think and I'll improve asap xxxx

(I'm also working on Save Me, sorry if I'm slow on that)


	4. 2

"Sakon." Gaara called for the boy.

The room was welcomed by a line of lights dangling from the left to the right side of the ceiling, casting a dark shadow in the four corners. A casino poker table lied in the centre of the room, with a deck of cards neatly presented in the middle. Behind it were paintings of women in a golden frame alongside leather chairs for relaxation. It was uncertain whether there were plants peeping out in the corners of the room as it was too dark to know for sure. Towards the left, a dedicated collection of drinks covered the wall and an unlit chandelier hovered over the light brown, bar counter. The unilluminated room formed a suspicious ambience and thin lips enveloped the oldest and the middle child. The youngest kept his composure; he wasn't visually expressive in comparison to his brother and sister.

A man had been sitting on the edge of the table with legs crossed and hands in his pockets. He had been looking at 'his' display of drinks before he turned towards the siblings with a threatening smile.

"The Gods have arrived." Jumping off the table, the trio appeared from the shadows of the room. Gaara stood in the middle with his hands to his side, Kankuro holding a gun inside his right pocket and Temari waving her fan with her left hand. This was their typical formation and anything different signified a big and bad problem.

"Welcome to my humble abode. Please, make yourselves comfortable." Sakon's open hands gestured towards a line of seats along the table facing towards the door. The siblings hadn't liked the tone of his voice nor his uncharacteristically nice words but complied smoothly. In a matter of moments, this would all be over anyway. Having seated themselves, Saton sat parallel to the three and closest to Kankuro, who was at the edge of the table (much to his annoyance). The trio couldn't see anything but other seats opposite the table, the door disappearing in the dark.

"Would you like a drink?" he pointed towards Temari, "Whisky? Two- no. Three cubes was it?"

"I'm not interested," she declined.

"The bullshit can stop. Where is it?" Kankuro was the first to spit in Sakon's face. The fake expression of shock only aggravated the siblings more. If you were going to act, do it more believably.

"Where is what? I don't understand?" he put a hand to his chest.

"Think back to our contract."

"Ah, **that**." raising his eyebrows forcibly.

The siblings remained quiet to give Sakon a chance to explain.

"Surely you'd like a drink first?"

"She said no and so do we. Get to the point." The middle child's blood boiled and boiled.

"Well if you insist," his smirk was playful, "but I have been caught up in a number of...affairs. Time flies when you have business to run." Sakon ascended from his chair to turn around, resuming his earlier stare at the presentation of drinks. A hand rested on his chin and he praised the work of art ahead of him.

"Is that an excuse?" Gaara questioned.

The figure he addressed turned around with a scarier smile.

"Of course not. I have been having to - how should we say - focus on someone else's needs rather than yours unfortunately."

"And who is that someone?"

Sakon silent chuckles slowly turned into a loud laugh that exposed his sharp teeth. The three furrowed their eyebrows and felt their jaws tense. This guy wasn't 'creepy', he was downright disturbing. As his laughs died down, his act faded and seriousness exposed his true, evil side.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try us." Kankuro's grip on his gun tightened and he began to move his arm upwards, the scowl on his face remained.

"He's stronger than you three combined."

"How dare you try and test us," Temari kept her composure with her venomous words. Spinning her fan playfully, she was ready to unleash its second form.

"You are all **WEAK**. Soon, he shall overcome you all and-"

The three noticed immediately.

"Hold it."  
They paid no mind to Sakon's empty words as Gaara raised his hand and Sakon stopped speaking immediately. Temari halted the movements of her fan and Kankuro's other hand dug into his pocket. The Sand Siblings stared dead straight into the darkness, knowing what lurked behind.

"We know you're there. Show yourself." Gaara commanded. Their impressive hearing caught the sound of three- no, four people entering the room. Sakon, who was completely unaware of the situation, continued to stare at the three with expanding eyes and mouth gaped open.

"Tch. That was slightly dramatic don't you think?"  
The four showed themselves, the dim light on their figures. The boy with dark blue hair spoke first with hands by his side. A blonde with blue eyes stood in between the spokesperson and a man with brown hair with a long red claw on his cheeks. He was facing opposite some dude with...face paint. Weren't they for kids? That left a black haired boy with his round shoulders and ponytail standing at the end next to Sasuke. His posture wasn't at all professional, casting a bit of judgement from Temari and Kankuro.

"Well, if you don't mind I think we'll sit down." If Shikamaru could sleep in this moment in time he would. To sit opposite the reason why millions of people slept with their lights on seemed too troublesome.

"I do mind very much."

"We weren't speaking to a dick like you Sakon," Naruto sneered as the four settled themselves down. Looking straight ahead his heart stopped. He sat directly opposite the legend himself, the boy with the unique love tattoo and dark red hair. No way. It was him. It was actually him! The excitement inside him was so so **so** difficult to contain, his eyes gave it away. Damn it was him in the flesh! In real life! Not just in the stories but he was only several centimetres away from each other. This guy...so **he** was part of the Sand Siblings?! Oh my god, he needed to shake his hand or something after this was over. Oh oh! Or take him out for a drink, he'll pay for everything! He needed to pay his respects to the guy himself one way or another and it was going to happen.

"Always nice to see you too Naruto."

 _Naruto_? Kankuro and Gaara recognised the name. From the Uzumaki clan? They heard about that story. One of tragedy: a young boy was protected in the dead arms of his parents as they were shot, when the animal inside him wrecked havoc upon the sight of his loving, caring parents no longer in the same world as him. The innocent little boy had brutally murdered those who killed their parents in a matter of minutes. If the stories were true, then this blonde guy was the real deal. This guy was dangerous and blood thirsty.

The same blonde who was trying to hold back his fidgeting smile as he looked at Gaara. Was he always this friendly? Or did he perhaps **swing** the other way? The Konoha people were always weird in the eyes of the Sunagokure-born trio.

Temari resumed to fan herself very, very, very slowly.

"How awfully brave of you all to disrupt us."

Shikamaru had stared dead straight towards the pair of teal eyes, aware of the sort of monstrosity she was capable of with simply herself and her 'fan'. But she didn't intimidate a guy of his nature, oh no. He had come across petrifying women before, it was bad enough that he used to live with one, like his mother. So what could be so scary about **her**?  
Of course, none of those scary women were from a gang. So it turns out Shikamaru actually knew very little of the woman's skills and strengths, let alone her name. After all, the Konoha Four hadn't known for certain that the Sand Siblings consisted of a female until several minutes earlier. There was no such thing as a female gangster in their society, not until now. The closest they had come across were the girlfriends or wives of the men they had businesses with (or killed). But they've never seen one actually as a part of a well known gang.

"Well someone had to find him first. Turns out, we're in the same situation as you." Kiba explained the reasoning behind their presence.

"Are we supposed to care?" Kankuro's unbothered expression hadn't changed at all.

"Damn right you should care, he's fucking all of us over." Naruto's fist hit the table, resulting in Kankuro to lean forward and almost pull out his gun if it weren't for his younger brother's hand on his arm. There was a violent silence in the room. The cute looking blonde's face now changed to one of anger and his clenched teeth was exposed. This guy really was the real deal, Uzumaki Naruto.

"Naruto." The man with brown hair next to him rested his hand on the blonde's shoulder, calming his tense body. It was enough to let him return to his professional state.

"Hmph. You're a bit lucky brat," he relaxed back into his seat and Gaara's hand left his arm, "I would've cut your head for that if we weren't so preoccupied." Kankuro threatened. In the meantime, Sasuke and Gaara's sharp eyes hadn't left Sakon's whereas the rest all scowled at each other like children. Kiba and Naruto snarled at Kankuro whereas Shikamaru eyed the mysterious woman and her fan. God forbid what that fan could do if it was made out of a very powerful alloy.

The siblings stared back at the men, Kankuro's eyebrows pulled down together and Temari's lips narrowing.

"Sakon. I don't know how long you've been putting off their money," he eyed each of the siblings, "but it's been long enough for us. You say you're not prioritising them but for someone stronger. Who?" Sasuke questioned.

"Like I said, you wouldn't believe me if I said." Sakon chuckled.

"Say it anyway," Shikamaru was the last to speak. But the man wouldn't budge.

"I doubt it's worth saying to the likes of you all."

"Teme. Don't FUCK with us." Naruto snapped as he pulled out a gun to aim towards Sakon's head, instantly followed by Kankuro kicking his seat away from him and pointing his right gun towards Naruto.

"Don't shoot him unless you want to die, punk."

"Not on my watch you fuck." Kiba was next, standing up and aiming both his guns towards the guy with purple paint. He'd gladly use his rounds from both his guns on this idiot, any day, any time. Temari shot up from her seat with large eyes and a growl, pointing her fan towards Kiba and ready to transform it into its second form until she saw a gun pointed in her direction. Teal eyes scowled and her mouth snarled at his gun, his eyes, and his stupid group of friends.

"Don't spin your fan. I know what it can do."

"Please refrain your idiocy." Gaara remained seated with his left gun directed towards Shikamaru and the right towards Sasuke, who at the same aimed one towards the red head and the other at Sakon. The two had no personal issue with each other because - quite frankly - they didn't care for each other. But you couldn't risk leaving one person unexposed, it was the unspoken rule of being a gangster. Some of the people in the room had their other guns unexposed, hiding in their pockets but Sasuke, Kiba and Gaara were the exceptions. They had both their hands occupied but the rest hadn't for very good reasons:

\- Naruto had a grenade in his other pocket rather than a gun, only to use in emergencies; this wasn't the time.

\- Kankuro had his poison gun resting in the left pocket of his blazer. That too was only used in emergencies and could only be used when having to kill someone who was running away. Sakon was still in the room so there was no need to use it.

\- Shikamaru rested his other hand on a lighter and ignored the other gun inside his pocket. The Konoha Four had more guns on display than the Sand Siblings in that current moment so there was no point exposing another one. Analysing his surroundings, he noticed he could burn the room rather quickly by throwing his lighter towards the vast amount of drinks. Again, there was no need for that right now.

\- Finally, Temari didn't carry guns in her pockets. They were wrapped around her thighs, hidden by her knee length dress. Plus it had been established that she wasn't very fond of such weapons and only used them as a last resort. This meant that she heavily relied on her fan, the pins in her hair and the extra fan and knives hidden beneath the red sash around her waist. If the Konoha boys had known better, they'd know that she was the best knife user in the room.

The tension in the room was alarmingly high and a simple move could've easily end the lives of all 8 souls in the room.

"It seems we've reached an impasse," Gaara eliminated the silence.

"And it's his fault." Naruto's eyes stayed planted towards Sakon.

 _'This brat is childish'_ Kankuro thought.

"A name is all we need. It's not that difficult Sakon, a toddler would know better."

The light blue haired male laughed at such preposterous statement.

"I don't think so. Toddlers can't do this:"

Ready to face the end, he grabbed the gun from Naruto's hand and shot himself in between his eyes.

"JESUS." Naruto screamed as the horrifying sight of blood and brain exploded from the back of his eyes. All the remaining gangsters lowered their weapons and looked at the sight of Sakon's bloody, lifeless body. His back hit the cold, hard ground and the blood from his head flooded his open eyes and slithered down his skin. Kankuro and Kiba stepped back and disgust twisted their faces as Sakon's blood stained half of their blazer. Shikamaru and Temari showed no indication of disgust but their tense shoulders said otherwise. Gaara looked back towards his body with an emotionless face, similar to Sasuke's. The smell of blood was revolting and some of the gangsters needed alcohol badly. Right now would have been preferable.

"Now what?" Kankuro sighed.

"Find somebody else," Temari answered. The three were about to move towards the door until they heard the sounds of people rushing in the distance. The click-clacking of high heels disappeared as strippers and customers were leaving the club but the loud stomps of men entered the scene, loading their guns and cracking their knuckles.

"Temari." Gaara spoke.

"I got it," she nodded. "You two," she pointed towards Kiba and Naruto with her fan, "I suggest you both move out the way unless you want a knife in your head."

"What?"

The two were confused by her statement but as the door behind them kicked open, Sasuke grabbed his friends towards him and all three fell to the ground. Temari swapped her fan for two small blades from her sash, sharp on both ends. Kankuro and Gaara softly smirked as they crossed their arms and awaited for what was to come. The figures of two males stumbled at the sight of the dead manager. However before they could react, twin blades flew across the room and passed through their throats. Her weapons landed on the wall, dripped in blood and the two lifeless figures simply stood.

One blink and you would have missed the cause of death of Sakon's guards.

With a thud, they collapsed towards the ground with a bleeding throat. People would always say that it was impossible to throw knives at such speed and they'd always dismiss Temari's skills. Well, those people were unwise and would almost always found out through first hand experience that she had the ability to throw a weapon pass the throat of a traitor.

For an intelligent guy, Shikamaru had never been so incorrect in his life. This stranger before him (Temari as he heard) was definitely intimating and perhaps the most horrifying of all women he had come across, and that was only because of two small blades. The two men Sasuke had pulled saw the bad guys fall to the ground, sharp objects literally appearing out of nowhere. Shikamaru along with Kiba and Naruto's eyes were large in shock, probably even larger than her latest victims. Sasuke's facial expression hadn't changed but he was secretly impressed, he also sort of disliked how she was far more experienced than the Konoha Four were. Temari's talents were all thanks to Tenten's training, who she hoped to exceed one day.

"More are arriving," she pulled out her fan and spun it to its second form, blades reflecting the light from the ceiling. Looking towards her brothers, they also pulled out their weapons.

"We haven't had a shootout in while." Kiba wiped the dust off himself as he straightened his back. "Oi Naruto, first one to get 5 head shots in a row has unlimited sake for a week." Kiba challenged with a smirk.

"Sake? Forget it." The blonde pushed himself up with his knees. He wasn't incredibly interested in alcohol, contrary to popular belief. He winced at such a nasty fall, why was Sasuke so unnecessarily forceful?

"Fine, ramen."

"ALRIGHT GET READY TO LOSE KIBA!" Naruto loved his ramen like Sasuke and Kiba loved their alcohol, words weren't enough to describe their passion. This had motivated Naruto to such extreme he noticed another guard entering the room from a hidden door next to the bar. But with the biggest grin he could fluster, Naruto killed him with a perfect head shot in a second. The rest were surprised as no one realised the other door whatsoever. Although when he was pumped up, Naruto somehow knew more than anyone had expected. It was his fox instincts that helped him know about the secrets of the room. For example, he had noticed the light switch next to the other door.

"4 more to go!"

"Shut up dobe I said in a row. If I shoot someone, you start again."

Naruto's gave a dirty look towards his friend as he shot towards the switch and the lights in the room brightened. The chandelier by the bar lit up and the darkness in all four corners of the room disappeared. They could actually see for a change.

"I'm going to count that as a shot. Start over."

"Bite me Kiba."

Meanwhile, his two friends rolled their eyes and the Sand Siblings looked less than interested at the commotion.

"You bastards!" Crowds of men shouted at them from afar as a small ball bounced past the main door. In a flash, Sasuke flipped the casino table over and the Konoha gang jumped over it to crouch down. The Sand Siblings ducked behind the table and braced for impact, the two gangs covering their ears and closing their eyes. The impact of explosion from the grenade created a high pitched beep that stung all of their ears. Parts of the chairs, deck of cards and the dead body parts flew across the burning room and the vibrations shook expensive bottles of drinks towards the floor. Next came a flood of bullets aiming to hit the table and the people behind them. Such stunning paintings that decorated the room now swayed from left to right, soaked in blood. The insanity and devastation of the red, gory scene suddenly relaxed as the convenient fire sprinkler released a hail of water from the ceilings of every room towards the floor. The spread of the roaring flames ended and the vibrant colours of the red walls, floors and tables shifted to a cold blue.

"I bet the sprinkler was built in for other reasons, not for a stupid fire." Temari hissed as the water drenched her hair and she pulled out a knife. She knew the water was there for the strippers to dance whilst soaking wet. Now **that** was a new meaning to the phrase 'make it rain'.

"Shit. I need to think of something," Shikamaru stayed still behind the table. It was too difficult to think of a plan when bullets were piercing through the goddamn table and he didn't know about the brothers' capabilities. They all knew about the red haired's talents but they never saw it in action so how could they know if it wasn't all a lie? Although given the likelihood of the gun he held and frequent rumours they heard, he was a long range shooter.  
With a peep over the table he saw several guys at the very far back of the room, hiding behind the counter Temari was at earlier. One of the guys was a large figure with a recognisable silhouette. A groan escaped his lips as he hid his head back beneath the table. Why **him** of all guys? And that thing he was holding definitely looked like a shotgun.

"Jirobo's here." the Gang registered Shikamaru's warning. Taking action, Sasuke turned to Temari.

"You. Come with me, you're a short range user." Temari was taken back by Sasuke's command. No one referred to her as 'you' how dare he say that?!

"Who do you think you are? Don't tell me what to do."  
The Sand Siblings knew of the Konoha Four, but given their nonchalant attitude towards them, they hadn't bothered them in the slightest. Although the rumours about them were occasionally a topic of interest, it seemed that the two groups hadn't scared each other in the slightest, or even liked each other.

One could say that they **despised** each other.

"I have a plan so unless you and your brothers wish to die then go ahead and stay hiding behind the table." As he growled, she knew now wasn't the time to be angry so she pushed it aside. Perhaps she can slap him later for such disrespectful manners.

The woman followed him with a growl as he led her towards the opposite corner of the room. They were away from the men's shooting range and were temporarily safe. As he brainstormed plans, she nodded and took off her heels. They were such a pain to run in, let alone wear.

Back to the table, the brothers spoke.

"Gaara stay here, I'm going to the other corner. Do me a favour and get more head shots than them," Kankuro gave one last sneer towards the two Konoha boys before dashing behind the bar counter. The pair heard the purple faced guy's remark and clenched their fists.

"TEME WE'RE ON THE SAME SIDE RIGHT NOW."

Then, there was an idea. Crawling towards the red head, Shikamaru gave his plan a try.

"Hey do you think you can-" a bullet narrowly missed his face when he ducked, "-shoot several people behind the bar counter at the back?"

"How many?"

"Oi Shikamaru! Leave that to me! I bet I can do it!"

"Naruto not now," he turned to his friend.

He felt the rejection and energy of the sulking blonde behind him drastically decrease.

"There there Naruto you can cry later." Kiba teased, shooting a guy in the heart as he comforted Naruto. Wait. Ah fuck that was the heart, not the head. He had to start again.

"Last I saw was two. But there's a lot of space behind so more people will come and go." Shikamaru tilted his head lower to avoid another bullet hitting his ponytail. "On my call, shoot."

The face staring at Shikamaru was blank.

"Erm...please?"

The face nodded.

 _Why does he have no facial expression? He creeps me out._

The second door by the bar broke as it was kicked in half. Before Sakon's back up could reveal itself, Kankuro had shot the guy in the throat and the person behind was shot in the head by Kiba.

"Fuck!"

"Keep up Naruto!"

"Shut up teme!"

A series of bullets shot past the wall and almost hit Sasuke and Temari. Both ducked towards the floor and crawled towards the entrance. They were directly behind the stage in next room and were safe from the bullets as long as they didn't stand. Temari could see scattered tables and chairs but they would be destroyed by a hail of bullets within several minutes. If they wanted to enter the main floor and quickly finish the shoot out once and for all, they would need to move **fast**. They couldn't stay trapped in the room forever.

"Jirobo's coming." Temari told Sasuke before they both returned to the corner of the room. Of all things they had to do, they had to keep Jirobo alive and make sure his hands weren't touching that shotgun. Shikamaru saw the two retreat towards the corner and heard them mention Jirobo's name. Right. It was time for the plan.

3.

"Kiba, Naruto, you," Shikamaru pointed towards the guy with purple paint on his face, "shoot anyone that goes through that door. We got the main entrance."

2.

"Woah! I'll get more head shots at this rate."

"For every shot I get, you both lose." Kankuro smirked as he ruined Kiba's streak of 3 head shots.

"When did this guy decide to join the game?!" Kiba snarled but complying, starting again from 0.

1.

One gigantic figure took a step forward into the room. With a starting run, Temari ran across the wet floor to kick the figure towards the floor before he could point his shotgun towards her. Performing a back flip from her kick, she ducked and let Sasuke shoot Jirobo's hands before he could land on the ground. He let go his hold on the shotgun in response to the indescribable pain and Temari snatched it away from him with her sash. Holding the heavy weapon, she aimed it towards Jirobo's head whilst running past the hail of bullets to seek refuge in the corner opposite Sasuke's.

"Do not move. At all." Her collection of knives and fans were by her feet. No one could touch her or them no matter what.

"Now!"

On cue, Gaara's guns peered over the table and he released a series of bullets targeting the men at the very back of the main floor. For a moment, Naruto stopped to look at Gaara perfect shots, something he called 'aesthetically pleasing'. His bullets had hit in between various pairs of eyes, blood splattering behind their heads as their lives vanished in the thin air. The water hadn't distracted his vision as every bullet collided with the flesh of the enemy's. For a moment he stopped. There was no one left. His guns felt strained, as signalled by the smoke emerging from them. What could only be heard was Jirobo groaning from the torment in his hands and the burst of water darting towards the ground.

"I believe you owe my brother unlimited ramen for a week." Kankuro teased the boys from the corner of the bar. He took the first move of standing up and peeking towards the main floor. There was no one left standing except the two gangs and Jirobo ( _well, he's technically lying down_ he thought). Finally, the water had stopped falling from the ceiling but the cool air left shivers down their spines.

"That was like 8-"

"No that was 10 shots. 5 from each gun." Naruto counted and corrected Kiba, his mouth open in pure shock and admiration. Gaara continued to look straight ahead with the guns in his hands before he knew it was fine to stand up, place his weapons away and wipe the water away from his face.

"Not everyday you see somethin' like that." Kiba lifted himself up and shook the water away from his hair. Great, his suit was wet. He was going to be sneezing for months.

"It isn't over though," Sasuke reminded the group as he walked over Jirobo, who stared at the raven haired boy with more than just disgust. He was repulsed by him, and his stupid gang, and the stupid Sand Siblings. Jirobo damned them all to hell with his bleeding hands and bruised chest.

"Hell isn't so bad for people like us." Shikamaru stood over him as he lit a cigarette. Thank fuck, he'd been craving for a smoke since they sat down to talk to Sakon.

"Are you going to tell us what Sakon wouldn't or are you going to meet the same destiny as him?" Gaara crossed his arms, standing next to Shikamaru. Water dripped from their hair and they hadn't look so amused by it. The males formed a circle around the body on the ground, so that meant Naruto HAD to stand next to Gaara. He was so cool for crying out loud! Gaara felt a figure push past Shikamaru to stand next to him, leading the smoker to roll his eyes.

Temari re-adjusted the sash around her waist and stood by his feet with the shotgun.

"My words still stand. Don't even think about moving."

"Oi pass me that, you're not even holding it right." Before Kankuro could realise, he slid and his back hit the ground as a pair of pissed off eyes threw the shotgun at him with more force than necessary. Clearly she didn't want the Konoha boys knowing her lack of experience with guns. The weapon may have been in his hands but now he lied on the floor with humiliation and pain.

 _For fucks sake Kankuro._

"You FOOLS. You'll never understand true power like we did. ROT in hell and burn in your flames!"

The Sand Siblings sighed.

"What's the point?" Temari rolled her eyes whilst retrieving her heels.

"You all can do whatever you want." Gaara stated as he and Kankuro (who got up in shame) stepped over Jirobo's body and Temari slid past the door, each approaching the different bodies from the main floor. They flicked through their blazer pockets for anything they could find. Anything would do. A picture, paper...why did Temari always find condoms in the pockets of men she approached? Fucks sake, she really knew how to pick guys.

 _Pigs._

The Konoha Four all looked at each other with hands in their pockets and an expression of uncertainty before looking down at the ghastly sight of the huge male.

"This is too troublesome." Shikamaru walked away with his cigarette and joined in with the Sand Siblings. He looked through the pockets of the guards in the current room they were in as opposed to the main floor.

You know that saying 'if you can't beat them, join them'? The rest of the Konoha gang took that seriously and began to find any hidden clues in the piles of dead bodies. Of course, they took all weapons off Jirobo and they shot him in the legs so he couldn't stand up.

History was in the making: the 7 most popular gang members were now working alongside each other, looking through bodies after bodies.

"Nothing here."

"Nah looked at him already."

"Who's going to clean this up?" Naruto's simple question earned a chuckle from his friends.

Sasuke stood up straight, the room in the back was no use.

Gaara approached a body behind the bar counter Temari occupied earlier. His pale hands searched through his outside and inside pockets until he felt the wrinkled texture of a folded paper. Grabbing it, he unwrapped the white paper with the splatter of blood. Two figures in the picture stared back at Gaara, one figure being the body currently on the floor and the other of a familiar, dark haired woman smiling towards the camera. Fingers that held the paper began to shake and his other hand formed into a fist. Eyes closed in guilt, he sometimes thought that their job was utterly shit.

"Temari," he called for the chartreuse haired woman who hopped over a body on the floor. She took the picture from his hands and felt her throat turn dry. Sadness twisted her features and her eyes dropped in remorse. The picture was partly ripped in between the couple in the picture. Oh the irony.

"We have to." Reminding her, the youngest condemned himself.

"Mm." She slowly nodded.

"Huh? What's up?" Kiba turned towards the two with his hand grabbing the collar of a dead body. "You found something?"

"EHH? Why didn't you say so earlier?!" Naruto released his grasp of a man's blazer and carelessly wiped the blood on his suit; he was going to throw it away anyway.

"She," Temari showed the paper to the rest of the gangsters and pointed towards the female, "is still alive and is a good friend of mine."

"That implies you know where she lives?" Shikamaru asked. Her slow nod made him pity her. In the gangster life, if you needed to interrogate someone who was a good friend, it was horrible. The chances of the friend surviving were low, way too low. Ripping the paper, she let the pieces fall to the floor.

"We're done here. Let's go," she took her first steps towards the exit with her brothers behind her.

"You seem to have forgotten that this situation applies to us too," the siblings stopped walking when they heard Sasuke.

"What are you insinuating," Gaara turned to a pair of onyx eyes, "that we join forces?"

"Couldn't have thought of a worse idea," Temari resumed walking.

"Oh no way," Kiba pointed towards Kankuro, "the guy with the face paint creeps me out."

"The feeling's mutual dickhead." If looks could kill, the two would have died from each other many times already.

"Why does this all have to be so complicated?" Shikamaru complained as the two took turns throwing insults back and forth each other.

"Men like you always look at the world through a half empty glass." Temari paused in her tracks to face him, spinning her fan with the tip of her finger.

"Tch. It's not everyday you see a woman in this sort of business."

"Oh? What's wrong crybaby?" He earned her undivided attention. "You never seen a female gangster before?" her tongue licked her luscious lips as she opened her fan with a smooth swipe, her other hand on her waist. In the very pit of his stomach, Shikamaru hadn't encountered such an uncomfortable feeling. Throughout all the doubt, all the drugs he took, all the alcohol he drank, all the cigarettes he smoked and all the women he had been with, she was the most dangerous of them all. There was no doubt that she was incredibly attractive. Not to mention that her navy dress was wet, so it accentuated her thin waist and hourglass figure. Her legs were thick from her intense training, but they were sexier than the plain, thin, unrealistic model legs and her smooth, delicate skin were envied by Greek Goddesses.

The biggest threat to himself, his friends, his dignity and his life was only several centimetres away: the eldest of the Sand Siblings.

The shuffling of a figure in the distance caught the attention of the Sand Siblings and the Konoha Four. They all turned to see Jirobo with a gun in his bloody hands, a finger pulling the trigger towards anyone, anywhere. Three bullets flew and aimed towards Gaara. In response, Temari rotated her fan twice to enter its third form and charged towards her youngest brother. From the corner of her eyes, the blonde threw himself towards Gaara, pushing him away from the bullets. Kankuro's eyes flew wide open as the bullets hit her sister's fan with three clanks and deflected towards the ceiling. It rained sparks as the bullets hit various lights.

The third and final form of Temari's fan was revealed. Pure steel in a shining silver colour, it was only used in emergencies. The design consisted of only three purple circles in a line and the fan deflected any bullet of any velocity from any direction. Although the fan had its limits and she could only use this form three times before the steel would shatter. Therefore, the was a heavy emphasis on what classified as an 'emergency'. Unfortunately, today had to be the day the components of her weapon crumbled in her hands and the furious face hidden behind the fan was exposed to Jirobo. What rarely anyone even heard of, the Konoha Gang saw the third form **and** saw it crack. The thuds of steel fell from her hand and damaged the ground. Before Jirobo could muster the physical strength to pull the trigger, Kankuro ended it with several shots to his head. The hole in his head increased in size for every shot Kankuro took and oozes of liquid covered his eyes, mouth and the floor around him.

"This is for breaking my fan." Temari brought a knife to her hand to violently throw towards Jirobo's neck, decapitating him.

Kiba and Shikamaru almost showed a visual expression of disturbance and Sasuke seemed unmoved by the situation when that was not the case, he was ever so microscopically intrigued. It wasn't her skills that made him feel this way, but her unpredictable nature. Men like the Konoha Gang and the brothers of the Sand Siblings were easy to understand. Women, however, were another work of art they hadn't known anything about. What they thought they knew, they didn't.

The two figures on the floor groaned as the impact of Naruto's throw surprised them both. Sitting up, he rubbed his head and hissed. Naruto was sure he could even see the growing bump from the very top of his eyes. Wait. Was Gaara okay?! Shaking his senses into him, he looked downwards to find him holding the back of his head.

"SHIT you okay?!" Naruto stood up and offered his hand to the pale skinned male, who sat up with his eyes planted towards the floor until he noticed Naruto's hand. Before he could process a response, his siblings took each his arm and lifted him up; they responded for him.

"Yeah." Gaara nodded but still winced at his injury. He thanked the support of his siblings before his arms left their shoulders and he straightened his back.

"Don't touch my brother."

The boys began to snarl at him again.

"My friend just risked his life to save him. A 'thank you' would suffice." Sasuke eyed him and it was almost as if his eyes turned from dark blue to red. The red appearance of his eyes was genetic in his family. Stories were told about men and women with red eyes who had the abilities to create the most frightening illusions and see through the lies of any living soul; Sasuke shared this talent when approached by unfaithful and lying men. His eyes were enough to call their bluff and his gun would help reduce the amount of liars in the world.

"My sister took care of it so she was the one who risked her life, not you. This no longer concerns you and we are leaving." Kankuro began to turn around until he felt a gun ghost behind the back of his head.

"The fuck you are. I don't think you remember us saying that this concerns us too."

"Guess you'll have to find your own clues." Kankuro gave a smirk before speaking the last sentence of the night. "See ya."

Shikamaru and Kiba marched towards the other two siblings with their guns pointed until everything was a blur. The three had missed what happened but Naruto somehow saw the entire thing. It happened way too quick for the other three to comprehend but Naruto was the bystander; he was like a ghost overlooking the scene. Kiba was about to approach Gaara until the red head's bullet shot towards an box of coloured wires on the wall in the distance. The moment the bullet destroyed the wires, the scene turned black and the sounds of breathing and footsteps were all that was heard. Shikamaru felt a strong force hit his neck before his heavy eyes shut and his body slammed the ground, as with Kiba.

Guns were a gangster's best friend and worst enemy. In the case of Sasuke, when he felt the heavy force of a gun hit his head, he stumbled towards the darkness until he landed on what seemed like a broken table, unconscious. Naruto saw through the darkness as Kankuro, Gaara and Temari had successfully injured his friends and were by the door. The red head looked back towards the remaining figure with what looked like a frown until he turned away and his brother threw a glass bottle at the blonde's head. The bump on his head grew tenfold and his back hit the floor with tremendous pain.

They may have lost the first battle, but it would not be their last. It was simply round one.

.

.

.

This was the defying moment that begun the war between the Sand Siblings and the Konoha Four.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hope y'all liking this so far x


	5. 3

"All we need is information. It'll save you a lot of trouble."

The shaking figure rose his head towards the two with menacing eyes. The prey hissed his teeth at the predator.

"And you can just suck my dick."

"The fuck did you just say?!"

"Naruto relax." Sasuke stood from his seat and marched towards the coward, his red eyes glaring at his soul with straight lips. "He's only trying to buy time."

With that in mind, the raven haired boy raised his gun and shot the man in the shoulder. Bloodcurdling screams echoed throughout the room and the figure rolled around on the floor, attempting to ease the pain. Sasuke had no idea how that was helpful when he was just spreading the pain instead. Sometimes, people made no sense to him. Nevertheless, he shrugged it off seeing as that wasn't the point.

"Allow me to reiterate. You can simply tell us where you last saw them. We know you were the last person to speak with them." For greater emphasis, he stopped the movements of the rolling body by forcing his foot onto his shoulder. Black blood drenched his leather shoes and travelled across the victim's suit and face, gurgling in his own blood. The hands behind his back were trapped by his handcuffs and the rope that tugged onto his ankles limited movement. He looked like a trapped seal, all the more amusing when he was rolling around.

"And it'll save you from **a lot** of pain."

Behind Sasuke, Naruto crossed his arms and smirked at the entertaining scene. His back relaxed further against the wall as he knew Sasuke had this situation covered. Every once in a while, it was fun to see him take charge and gain the information they needed in twisted, sick ways. Naruto was more upfront about it, eager and ready to break the jaws of those who'd fail to speak up. Every punch would become faster and stronger until they gave in and blurted out everything, with a teeth or two spitting out. In contrast, Sasuke was on the other side of the spectrum. The pain would be much more long lasting and it was so torturous, beyond imagination. Whilst Naruto was very impatient, Sasuke wasn't; this was they key difference to their tactics.

It could take up to hours for Sasuke to torture such victims if he was feeling dark enough.

But today they were in a bit of a rush so he switched to his gun.

"Now speak."

"N..Never."

The foot on his shoulder pushed downwards with brutal strength, causing another scream.

"I said speak."  
Red eyes intensified towards such weak eyes, ready to take necessary action if any of his words came out as a lie. Sasuke was no fool and could not be deceived.

"Th...They moved south."

A bullet shot through his other shoulder, earning another cry for help and a rapidly expanding pool of blood.

"Try again."

You see? Sasuke's eyes never failed to trick him.

The groans from the coward turned to whimpers, he knew was death was awaiting him the moment he was taken to see the **very pissed off** Konoha Four. The events of the previous night may have gone unnoticed to many people, but the four boys awoke from their unconscious state in that all too familiar location fuming with rage. They now had more enemies and now more people to kill. Revenge was always resolved with these boys, one immoral way or another.

"W..West. Last I saw they were one hour west from here."

His hypnotising eyes expanded.

"Is that your final answer?"

Tears flowed down his eyes with a nod. The foot on his shoulder elevated and rested along the wooden floor. As his left hand rested in his pocket he turned to his friend.

"I think the world would do well with less liars," Sasuke smirked as he shot the coward in between his eyes without looking.

The predator had killed the prey.

Naruto saw his red eyes fading and return to his normal, seemingly 'attractive' navy colour.

"One hour west? We can get there in 40 minutes."

"20."

"25." Two males joined the conversation, walking around the dead body nonchalantly.

"I guess that this," Kiba edged his head towards the dead body, "took about 20 minutes."

"No there's three bullets so it took 10." Of course, Shikamaru's smart intuitions led him towards the correct answer.

"10 it was. We know where we need to go so why are we still standing here?"

"I'd still say we can make it to the Sand Siblings by 25 minutes."

"25 it is!" Naruto cracked his knuckles with a determined grin.

* * *

She walked along the streets of Sunagokure, a series of knives hidden in her sash and a last resort gun hugging her right thigh. There was business to attend, and although many of their guards would often to these things for the trio, she took matters in her own hands. And this was not just any person she was going to visit, she was a dear friend of hers who she bared no ill will. Resorting to murder would contaminate her already bloody hands and that was not her primary achievement. All she needed was information.

Specifically, she needed a name.

With the most friendly smile she could plaster, she rang the doorbell opposite a charming house, coated with beige paint. The 'welcome' mattress lied beneath her shoes and a flattering presentation of flowers lied across the front of the house. In this desert city, where sandstorms were regular and the bare branches of trees were the resting stool of crows, flowers were a sight for sour eyes. It was nice to see the colour of green leaves besides the orange desert every now and then. Suddenly, the door opened to reveal a petite figure with coral black eyes but chocolate, brown hair.

"Temari?!"

"Matsuri."

"Oh my goodness!" The female threw her arms around Temari, who was surprised in response. "I was getting so worried about you, you always go through such long days and nights and do so much and never take off time to relax an-"

"Matsuri, Matsuri it's okay. I like what I do."

 _Most of the time._

The younger female pushed herself back from her shoulders and analysed her close friend's features.

"Hmmm you seem to have enough sleep and you don't have bags underneath your eyes. You have no scratches either."

"Hey can you try to not look at me so closely? It's been so long." A sweat drop fell behind her head.

"Oh sorry. I'll make you some tea, come in!" However it didn't seem like Temari had a choice as Matsuri pushed her towards the kitchen, running to close the front door and running back towards the kettle. Nervousness twitched her fingers as she attempted to grab two cups as quickly as possible in aims of impressing her rather prestigious guest.

"You don't have to be so scared of me you know." Another sweat drop descended behind her head.

"I'm not but I want to make you feel more at home!" Her head frantically turned to find two plates before she could place one of Temari's guilty pleasures on top of them. Finishing her preparations, she placed a warm cup of tea on the table with her favourite food presented on the side.

"You know I'm too old to eat sweets like these."

"You've lost weight and one dango won't harm you! Eat eat." Aged 21 and yet, Matsuri's childish soul radiated towards Temari. How could she not oblige to the most simple household rules: eat what you are given, it's disrespectful not to. Therefore she happily savoured the taste of her favourite sweet, reminiscing her early teenage years when she was first introduced to such food. The siblings were starting to climb up the social ladder and decided that it was time to act like their age for a change. Unfortunately the price of prioritising their career was that they simply lacked the knowledge of how a teenager 'acts'. The idea of eating 'teenage foods' like crisps, cakes and other sweets was their first, ridiculous suggestion but the four pig-tailed woman was always drawn towards the mysterious sweet of dango. The Japanese dumpling was coated in colours of the rainbow and luck would have it that Temari resided near such a shop. Then, fate determined her meeting with Matsuri where their eyes first locked. Back then, most teenagers were repulsed by the siblings. Inhumane, unnatural punks like them had no place in the teenage bubble. But rather than running away in fear, she gave a soft smile and gestured to sit alongside her. It was the start of a beautiful friendship all because of a pink coloured Japanese dumpling.

It felt like years after Matsuri ran around the house to ensure Temari's surroundings were as perfect as possible. Once she sit down and sipped her tea, she grimaced.

"The tea is cold."

This in turn caused her friend to chuckle.

"Of course it is, you were running all over the place. You've seem to have forgotten that we're friends, your house could be a mess but it wouldn't bother me."

"I know but I just wanted everything to be perfect."

"'Perfect'? Why?"

"So everything is clean and nice before I die."

The motionless woman emptied the contents of her tea before slowly placing the cup onto the table. She wished that she wouldn't say such an upsetting thought but couldn't blame her blunt nature. After all, Temari was the one who introduced and influenced the honest 'speak your mind' attitude upon her. The two pairs of eyes stared at each other, one shaking with surprise and the other drowning with sorrow.

"Temari... I didn't think twice before I realised why you were here. You know about my husband."

And indeed she did, her guilt covered eyes didn't hide that. Her eyebrows furrowed at the sight of misery of her dear friend before she breathed a sigh. They both came a long way together and achieved their dreams with the brightest of smiles. Now all of a sudden: one was partly responsible for the death of her husband and the other knew she would be next to die.

"I do."

The prey shivered under the eyes of the predator.

"I want to ask you several questions." Matsuri whispered.

"Anything."

A pause.

"Was it you who shot him?"

"No."

Another pause.

"You swear?"

"I swear."

"Then who was it?"

The bad part was, she was unsure. The worst part was, it was likely to be Gaara, the man who Matsuri once loved. Although it could have been the other two Konoha brats, the one with blonde hair or the other with red stroke marks, the odds were in Gaara's favour. Given that her husband's body was found in the farthest side of the room and a bullet went through between his eyes, only Gaara could muster a shot from such a distance. The other two Konoha males may have been talented, but not as talented as her youngest brother.

The ex-lover killed her new lover.

Gaara indirectly destroyed her heart.

Not once but twice.

"You look unsure."

She wasn't unsure, she was conflicted.

"Perhaps. But I cannot say for certain."

The female shook her head.

"You have names in your mind don't you?"

"3. One is more likely than the other two but it's based on my intui-"

"I believe you. If you can't say for sure then I can't ask you. I'd rather have the final answer addressed to me in confidence." Slowly ascending from her seat, she placed her hands by the side of the kitchen sink and looked out her window. Her garden was spacious, enveloped by sand and dead trees. The climate here in Sunagokure meant the absence of greenery, but there was something so beautiful about the orange sand scattered across the horizon. In the distance was the outskirts of Konoha, where a hint of green was noticeable. Everyday, Matsuri would walk inside her house and not notice such beautiful surroundings, such scenes of art. It seemed very fitting to finally notice on the day of her death.

"You never realise what you have until it's gone. I'll miss this, you know?" Her head turned back towards her companion.

"Matsuri why do you think you're going to die?" She never spoke with Matsuri as a gangster, she spoke as a friend.

"Because of your unexplained presence here."

"I would never want to kill you." It was the truth.

"How can I believe that?" Tears invaded the corners of her eyes.

"I want to protect you, your husband worked for a dangerous man." The female rose from her seat with hands planted on the table. Leaning forward, she desperately needed her friend to listen to her and ignore her dangerous, bad ass side for one second.

"Wasn't he the man you helped?! Doesn't that make you the bad person too?"

"No! This is the truth: he never met our side of deal and exploited everything and everyone."

"If you knew he exploited everyone why didn't you help my husband? Why didn't you free him?!"

Her cries became louder and louder.

"He would come back home and no longer looked the same. He was so cold and his eyes were empty. It's like he woke up one day and realised that the world was full of garbage. If you knew all of this then where was the help he deserved?"

The sound of her sniffing deeply upset the figure opposite her.

"Why did he die instead?!" Tears floated in the air and the gangster had never looked so downhearted by the sight of suffering. The familiarity and unfamiliarity of the situation haunted her.

The feeling of losing someone in the hands of the enemy, leaving your hardened heart to shatter in pieces? This once regular encounter turned her into the woman she was today, distancing herself from any form of contact with those who deserved a better life than she did. The innocent souls claimed all because of their friendship with Temari, all because of a simple 'nice to meet you' was unbearable. Too many perished for no reason, and so she was familiar with the feeling of losing someone close to you.

Friends were important, and therefore were a gangster's first target. If she only had her brothers, who else could her enemies go after?

That feeling of giving your heart and mind to your significant other, with the fluttering of butterflies in the stomach and the warm aura in the cheeks glowing with happiness? To look at the one and only person who'd turn your words into jumbles and whose smile was the highlight of your day? To look past the flaw of mankind and realise that the world was indeed a great place when that one person you adored existed?

This was an extract she remembered reading off a fairy tale. This was all unfamiliar to her. Although she loved her brothers, she never loved anyone in this way.  
Romantic love was more than unfamiliar, it was uncharted territory. Romantic love made you do stupid things and Temari didn't bother wasting her time on shit like that.

That didn't mean other people wouldn't waste their time. She wasn't Matsuri, who learned to love others for who they were and share divine happiness with that one person.

She had everything, and one night took it all away.

Matsuri's uncharacteristic outburst almost led to Temari grabbing a knife from her sash in defence, but she forcefully froze her hands. She was a friend.

She was a friend and not the enemy, Sakon was.

She was a **friend**.

"It was too late by the time we realised... I'm sorry Matsuri."

The river of tears stopped flowing down her cheek and a moment of silence encompassed them. Rolling up her sleeves, her tears were wiped away but her misery remained. Their eye contact hadn't broke until she closed her eyes with fatigue and collapsed into her seat, crying was so exhausting.

She slowly sank towards the chair.  
"Matsuri I didn't come here to kill you or threaten you. I only came to ask for one thing." She blinked. "Just one."

A series of deep breaths returned her friend back to her sane state. Slowly, her cried out eyes trembled and her eyebrows furrowed with great despair. Forgetting how to breathe was one concern that faced Matsuri, with her parched throat desperate for water or alcohol, anything that would help her.

"You **promise** me? You promise me that it wasn't you who killed him?"

The predator surrendered to her prey's tears.

"I promise."

A nod and a final wipe from her eyes signalled the episode of pain.

"What do you need?" It was almost a silent whisper.

"Your husband worked for Sakon and when we went to find him yesterday, he took the coward's way out of it. He wouldn't tell us the name of someone he was working for. All I need is just a name."

"A name?" She sniffed.

The gangster nodded.

"After this, we can go our separate ways and you'll never have to see me again. You'll never have to worry about looking at me or my brothers."

She chuckled.

"Don't be ridiculous Temari, I care about you too much to separate from you. I just get scared because whenever you want to see me it's not normally for the greatest of reasons."

"I understand," she smiled. The truth was cold but needed to have been said.

The room filled with silence as Temari awaited for her friend's information.

"He never talked about anyone in particular, he really didn't."

Temari's back relaxed into the wooden chair with hands on her lap. Matsuri was no liar. Whatever she said was as far as the Sand Siblings could go. If she hadn't known anything, they were back to square one where they scavenged the bodies of the dead in search for clues.

 _Fuck, fuck and fuck._

Matsuri wanted justice and justice was the least she deserved. But what could Temari do if their information was limited? Sure, their men and guards would find a lead and one way or another, they'll eventually find the person they're looking for but by then that would have taken far too long. For Matsuri, she wanted the enemy's head. She wanted the enemy to beg and beg for forgiveness for their sins, she wanted to see blood flow from their lips, eyes and chest.

Gaara hadn't killed Matsuri's husband, it was Sakon.  
Whoever Sakon worked for killed her husband.

Revenge was necessary and Temari swore to achieve it.

"But."

"Hm?" She broke away from her deep thoughts.

"I once heard him speak about someone on the phone. It was along the line of a guy named 'Suigetsu'."

"Suigetsu?"

"Yeah they were talking about how he controls Sakon. It's essentially like a pyramid where my husband was at the very bottom, Sakon was above him and Suigetsu was above Sakon."

The name was new to her; perhaps it was new to everyone.

"There must be someone at the very top of the pyramid."

"Yeah and it definitely isn't Suigetsu. Someone is more powerful out there and we're unaware of it. I don't doubt that you and your brothers are at the top, but maybe there's someone else."

"Really?"

Before they could continue, a storm of bullets shot through from the front of the house into the kitchen. Temari's fast reflexes pulled Matsuri towards her and they both remained flat on the ground.

"What?! What's going on?!"

"I don't know! Matsuri, my brothers know I'm here, they wouldn't do this!" Her voice was louder than the swarm of bullets.

"Then who could it be?!"

"I d-" No. No fucking way. Did those punk ass Konoha brats make their way here?! Oh if they did, she would kill them, every last one of them. Pain wouldn't be defined until she killed each of them slowly with a sexy, evil smirk.

"Temari?"

"It doesn't matter anymore, I'm going to hold them off whilst you run." Pulling out her gun from her thigh, her kimono did her justice of hiding weapons.

"You can't, there's too many of them!"

"I've been in worse places," she smirked as she narrowly avoided a bullet that brushed past her pigtail. Crawling towards the entrance of the kitchen, a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Wait."

Turning around, Matsuri opened a floor safe underneath the kitchen table and unleashed a metal box. Inside contained documents and pictures of her friends and family, but beneath all those were a variety of weapons. Scavenging through the documents, Matsuri grabbed a grenade for Temari.

"I've been saving this for emergencies. Please use it."

She nodded and took the weapon, setting it aside to grab Matsuri's hand.

"I beg of you, run."

"Will I ever see you again?" Her eyes sparked with concern, only to stare back at a concerned and worried pair of teal eyes.

"One day, but please don't look back. I've brought enough trouble to you so let me do something for you, one last time." The hand on Matsuri's tightened.

"Then I ask for one favour."

"Anything."

"Place flowers by my husband's gravestone."

"Everyday." Temari promised.

"Everyday?"

"For a loyal, amazing friend like you and a gangster like me? Of course. Now run." Kicking the door open, Temari returned to her crouched position and waited for the bullets to die out. In that split second where everything remained calm, she charged towards the sofa in the living room before another hail of bullets erupted. From there, she saw her dearest friend fade into the distance, the metal box taken with her.

 _Take care Matsuri._

Back to the situation at hand, the windows in the living room turned into shattered glass. Peeping over the sofa, she noticed a black car with several men around it aiming towards the house.

"Damn the Konoha rats." Temari spat as she pulled the top of grenade and threw it past the broken window and towards the cars. As it struck, flames erupted and burned everything surrounding it, assuredly leaving no room for survivors. The mortifying screams of the victims echoed throughout Sunagokure, smoke invading her nose and lungs as she struggled to breathe. Looking around her surroundings, the walls were decorated with empty holes and broken frames. Bullets flooded the floor, stained with glass and broken pieces of furniture.

But the opportunity to leave the house vanished when another hail of bullets aimed towards the woman, rendering her speechless.

"What?!"  
Where was this coming from? Everything was burnt to bits, no one was left behind. If there were back up arriving, she would have heard it. So how could this be happening?

 _Fuck._

The top half of the sofa was now destroyed and there was no chance of her escaping the scene. Crouching down even further towards the ground, her only option was to run towards the staircase and seek refuge upstairs. If Matsuri had a secret safe in her kitchen, there must have been something in her room.

The smell of death and smoke was invasive, giving her more of a reason to run upstairs. Tightening the bands on her four pigtails and holding her emergency gun, she started a mental countdown.

3.

The sofa that provided her protection was crumbling and the bullets were merely inches away from striking her head.

2.

The perfect moment, she was going to wait for it. Just before one bullet could strike past her top pigtail.

Suddenly the screeching of tires and screams interrupted her countdown. There was the unmistakable sound of assault rifles and bodies collapsing towards the ground, with the number of bullets aiming towards Temari decreasing at a rapid rate until there was nothing left. Silence saved the scene, thanks to the arrivals of other gangsters.

Gangsters she knew who were on her side.

Teal eyes looked over the sofa and through to the broken window. She focused on a figure who placed a hand on his hip before he waved frantically towards his sister.

"Temari! You can come out now you don't have to be so scared."

She stood up far too quickly at that statement. Jumping out the window, she marched towards him rather angrily.

Temari did **not** like being called 'scared'. She knew she was scary and intimidating, but for her to **feel** scared was impossible.

"That's the way to greet your oldest sister?!"

"You're welcome." His smile teased her.

The growl on her lips faded when she viewed the scene around her. How could she stay mad? They saved her in the end, even though she was more than capable of surviving if she went with her plan. Their guards destroyed the fire and smoke with water and placed covers over the burnt bodies. No one needed to look or smell that horrifying shit, not in their neighbourhood. She knew the people in their homes were looking at them from their windows, uncertain of whether they were bringing safety or trouble to their hometown. Regardless, she folded her arms and looked towards Gaara who was approaching them.

"We heard the gunshots from a few blocks away."

"Who was it? The Konoha brats?" The snarl returned.

Gaara shook his head. "We doubt it."

"How did they know I was here? Or were they trying to kill Matsuri?"

"We'll find out later. More importantly do you have a name?"

She nodded.  
"Suigetsu."

"That's unfamiliar..."

"The name rings a bell somehow." Kankuro thought back to when he first heard such a name but his memories had failed him. "I'll ask around."

The red haired boy looked towards the broken house with the shattered display of flowers and empty windows. Behind his emotionless expression, he was worried.

"Where's Matsuri?"

Temari spoke with a dry throat.

"I told her to ran. She must be far from here but she'll be safe. I'll get someone to keep a close eye on her until we know for sure where she is. Afterwards, we cut our connections with her. I don't want her to see us and almost die again."

"Are you sure about this?" Kankuro eyed his sister. "She's a close person to you."

"Which is precisely why I'm doing this," her eyes looked beyond the deserted house, once home to hopes and dreams. She knew she would make her way around and she'd seek shelter somewhere but a small part of her was unsure. The typical energetic and strong Matsuri entered a fragile and vulnerable state where anything could happen to her. All Temari could now do was wait and hope. The Gods of luck may have never been by her side but she called upon them, demanding for Matsuri's safety and certain survival.

The predator freed the prey.

And now, the prey was running for her dear life.

* * *

In the desolate streets they were miles away from seeing buildings arise from the sand, which also meant they were stuck underneath the sun. Seasons hadn't affected the weather in Sunagokure, the giant marble of fire brought sweat and heat onto its civilians. But at night, the moon's glow brought shivers and frost in the corners of windows, putting Winters in other cities to shame. Although it never rained and it never snowed, one way or another, the weather had its extremes and were forces beyond nature.

They were in the car when they saw the wisp of black smoke in the distance. The sound of gunfire was faint but as they drove closer to the centre of the city, the sounds were louder and deafening. It was the early hours of the evening and the descending sunset cast a thick shade of orange along the horizon, but gunfire at this time was no good thing. Anyone with common sense knew those who knew how to control their neighbourhood kept their fights and conflicts to the very late hours, not whilst people were roaming the streets and the police were active.

This sparked judgement from the Konoha Gangsters. Could it be that the Sand Siblings were starting to lose control of their neighbourhood?

"This place is rough."

"We could make use of this place don't you think?"

"Nah. With people like the Sand Siblings controlling this place, it's definitely fucked up here. Besides, the system here is harder to control than in Konoha and the politics here are way too complicated (and troublesome)." Shikamaru said strategically. Of course, taking controlling of other neighbourhoods and cities were the best thing a gangster could ask for. But even he knew the Sand Siblings had to work from a very, very young age in order to get to where they currently were. Besides, a few gun fights at this time of day was nowhere near the worst thing that could bestow upon the Hidden Sand Village.

Kiba rolled his eyes, "just thinking about them annoys me."

"Naruto try to find a bar around this place. I could use a drink before we find them."

"Sasuke your alcohol addiction is out of hand."

"Oi Naruto a drink isn't a bad idea, step to it." Kiba kicked the back of Naruto's seat with a playful smile, but it seemed that the blonde didn't feel as playful as he did.

"Teme you're just as bad him!" He looked back towards his friend with narrowed eyes, completely taking his eyes off the road.

"You idiot focus on the road!" Sasuke managed to narrowly avoid crashing into the first building that welcomed them into the city by spinning the wheel in the last second.

Shikamaru sighed. "How did he pass his driving test..."

"Erm," Naruto chuckled as a sweat drop descended behind his hair, "I actually never took mine. I learnt as I went along."

It seemed as if the world's greatest mystery was solved.

"That explains a **lot**."

"I knew it."

"No wonder why." The other three managed to say at the same time.

"Hey shut up!" Naruto's irritated nature amused his friends. "I got us here didn't I? Look!" He parked nearby a pub, surprised that other cars nearby weren't covered with sand. Better yet, it was weird to think that there'd be cars in the desert. Regardless, on the way here, Naruto had to activate the windscreen wiper to brush away the sand that covered their windows. But he shook off the thought and smiled back at his friends with great satisfaction; his hectic driving still got them to their location without a single scratch.

"I think you should all buy me a drink to make up for your comments!" He held up his thumb and flashed a smile with his teeth; it was his trademark pose.

"You're not even fond of drinking."

"IT'S THE THOUGHT THAT COUNTS SASUKE." This led to a full blown cry of laughter from the squad. Even Naruto, who eventually found his composure, was able to smile about it as he got out of the car.

"After this, we find the siblings." Although Shikamaru wanted to most annoying part of the day out of his way, a little drink or two couldn't hurt him.

"Definitely. But for now," Sasuke opened the door to the pub, "let's drink."

* * *

 **A/N:** Had to make a boring chapter to create a better build up, sorry y'all

Slow updates from now on, my final exams are coming up and I'm only starting to realise that procrastinating will not help me get into university ;-;

Thank you so much for reading! xx


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